A record number of passengers used Gatwick last year.

Operator BAA said 3.28 million people passed through the airport during the year to March - an increase of 2.6 per cent on the previous year.

BAA - at the centre of frenzied bid speculation - put the increase down to the boom in low cost travel and a number of new airlines joining the airport.

In contrast, BAA blamed the London bombings and a wildcat strike by catering staff for fewer passengers passing through Heathrow airport last year.

BAA, which owns seven UK airports, also pointed the finger at a softening national economy and higher oil prices for the drop.

A total of 67.4 million people passed through the four terminals at Heathrow during the year to March - down 0.3 per cent on 12 months earlier.

The boom in low-cost travel benefited BAA's other UK airports such as Stansted, meaning that BAA handled 144.6 million people over the past 12 months - up two per cent on the previous year.

But cancellations caused by heavy snow in Scotland and the North East combined with Easter falling later than last year meant BAA saw passenger numbers fall by 1.3 per cent in March to 11.4 million.

BAA is currently the target of a takeover bid from a consortium led by Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure group. It rejected an offer of 810p a share on Friday. Fearing Ferrovial or a rival bidder could return with a much higher offer. Unconfirmed reports suggest BAA has prepared plans for a special dividend of up to £1 billion to keep shareholders onside.

The consortium, which includes a Canadian fund manager and the private equity investment arm of the Singapore government, has held meetings with the UK Government and the CAA since revealing its intention to bid.

It has also held an initial meeting with the trustees of the BAA pension scheme. BAA told Ferrovial that its offer worth £8.75 billion "did not begin to reflect the value of BAA's unique portfolio of airport assets".

Wednesday, April 19, 2006