Airports operator BAA had a "strong Christmas and New Year holiday period" with passenger numbers jumping 15.3 per cent over the previous year.
The group, whose chief executive is Mike Hodgkinson, said passenger numbers across its seven UK airports - which include Heathrow and Gatwick - totalled 9.4 million in December.
The figure is 1.2 million higher than the same month the previous year, when air traffic was reduced by the post-September 11 impact. Heathrow grew 4.3 per cent year-on-year but Gatwick was down 5.1 per cent.
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