BAA reports 0.5% increase in Jan-2012 pax, cargo down 3%

UK's BAA airports passenger numbers up 0.5% - traffic highlights for Jan-2012:

• Passenger numbers: 7.5 million, +0.5% year-on-year;
  • UK and Channel Isles: 1.2 million, -3.9%;
  • Ireland: 293,392, -2.2%;
  • European scheduled: 3.0 million, +1.9%;
  • European charter: 95,420, +5.5%;
  • North Atlantic: 1.1 million, +5.2%;
  • Other long haul: 1.8 million, -1.0%;
• Cargo volume: 130,611 tonnes, -2.6%;
• Aircraft movements: 71,790, -1.0%. [more - original PR]

BAA: "BAA airports have demonstrated resilience in the current weak economic environment. However Heathrow's capacity crunch is harming UK growth. Business leaders in the world's fastest growing economies say they are put off investing in the UK because of a lack of direct flights. Heathrow's China traffic declined this month, which is in marked contrast to the 9% annual growth rates experienced by our European competitor hubs. This provides clear evidence that capacity constraints are damaging the UK economy today when the country can least afford it," Colin Matthews, CEO. Source: company statement, 13-Feb-2012.