The BA strike in June has apparently caused the number of passengers using BAA airports to fall throughout the last month. According to the UK airport operator, passenger numbers in its airports fell by 1.7% in comparison to the same month last year.
Although British Airways is denying that the strikes are entirely to blame, BAA have stated that if it wasnt for the strike theyd have expected numbers to at least match last years.
British Airways staff, most notably the cabin crew, were on strike for around 22 days in 2010, 9 of which were in the last month. BA claimed the amount of people it carried last month was down 11% due to the strikes, although it still had over 2.5 million customers.
BAA operates six UK airports, having sold Gatwick airport for around £1.5bn in 2009. BAA now runs two major London airports (Stansted and Heathrow), as well as Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports.
It is difficult to tell how much the BA strikes have had an impact on BAA airports. Glasgow airport, who do see BA flights, saw a 7% decline in passengers from last year, although Stansted airport, which doesnt have any BA flights, saw a 5.2% reduction from last year.
Perhaps BAA needs to do a better job with its airports, rather than simply blaming British Airways for their own internal strikes. Have a look at Manchester Airport for example; they work extremely hard on their levels of customer service, staff morale and a high level of facitilies for customers. They have seen an increase in passengers over the last few years, and it is unlikely to be a coincidence that their airport lounges & airport hotels are very highly thought of and rated, as are the staff and the Manchester Airport parking facilities are top of the range.
