Bloomberg.com: U.K.

Bloomberg.com: U.K.:BAA Says Terror Alert Slowed Growth, Cost 13 Million Pounds

By Richard Blackden

Sept. 12 (Bloomberg) -- BAA Plc, the world's largest airport operator, said last month's terror alert slowed passenger growth and cost the company 13 million pounds ($24 million) in extra costs and lost sales.

The company's seven U.K. airports handled 14.3 million passengers in August, a 0.3 percent increase from a year earlier and 5 percent below the company's forecast for the month, BAA said in a statement.

BAA was criticized by airlines for its handling of the terror alert on Aug. 10, which prompted the government to introduce new security measures. The disruption cost British Airways Plc, the biggest user of Heathrow, 40 million pounds.

``The market most affected by the disruption was U.K. domestic,'' London-based BAA said in the statement.

Travellers using Heathrow fell 2.2 percent to 5.98 million last month. Gatwick, London's second-largest airport, handled 3.8 million passengers, a 2.1 percent increase from a year ago. Passengers at Stansted airport rose 4.9 percent to 2.36 million, BAA said.

Carriers, including Ryanair Holdings Plc, scrapped more than 2,400 flights at London's airports in the week after Aug. 10, when the government said the police had uncovered a plot to blow up planes traveling to the U.S.

The U.K. police have charged 17 people in connection with the alleged plot, of which 11 are accused of conspiring to murder and preparing acts of terrorism.

Though the government has eased some of the new security rules, carry-on bags remain restricted to half the previous size and half of all travelers are searched by hand.

Ryanair, Europe's largest low-cost carrier, and EasyJet Plc, the second largest, have said that the cancellations cost them 4 million pounds each. Ryanair has filed a lawsuit against the government for compensation.

The disruption at the U.K. capital's airports comes less than three months after Grupo Ferrovial SA, Spain's second- largest construction company, agreed to buy BAA for 10.1 billion pounds.