News: Sharp fall in UK airport passenger numbers during 2009
Flights > News > # 2378 (11/01/2010)
Some of the UK’s biggest airports were hit by a major fall in passenger numbers last year.
BAA, which operates six UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, has published figures showing they carried 4.7 million fewer passengers than in 2008.
The decision by millions of British holidaymakers to “staycation” last summer due to Met Office predictions of a heatwave compounded the fall in passenger numbers already caused by the recession.
No-frills hub Stansted was hit hardest, with a 2.3 million drop due to both Ryanair and easyJet cutting back on capacity.
BAA’s chief executive, Colin Matthews, said: "2009 was a difficult year for our airline customers.
"Towards the end of the year, we saw signs of improvements, particularly at Heathrow, but there are more challenging times ahead in 2010."
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