BAA downgrades passenger forecasts

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

AIRPORT operator BAA has downgraded its passenger forecast for the year after the London bombings and Heathrow strikes that forced BA to down its operation.

Delayed passengers

The group, which runs seven UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, expects passenger numbers to rise by 3% for the full-year compared to its original forecast of 3.5%.

The London bombings had a negative affect on overseas tourists visiting the capital, particularly those from the US, while BA's Heathrow operation was downed for around 24 hours following the Gate Gourmet dispute.

BAA said in a trading statement ahead of its interim results that it handled 66m passengers in the five months to the end of August. This represented a rise of 2.6% on the same period last year, despite including its busiest months.

The firm, whose other airports are at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton, said earlier this month that it handled 14.3m passengers during August, an improvement of 0.5% on a year earlier.

In today's update, BAA also said its retail business continued to perform well and that it expected a 1% increase in the amount spent per passenger over the full year.

It added that operating costs - mainly energy bills and business rates - had risen as expected and said it was continuing its work to minimise the impact over the full year.

Meanwhile, the project to build a fifth terminal at Heathrow Airport remained on budget and ahead of schedule, and was now more than 65% complete. Shares were ½p down in early morning trading to 621p.

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