700 jobs to go as airport profits rise
Around 700 job losses were announced today at the three biggest airports operated by BAA as part of plans to save £45m (€66.5m) a year.
BAA said back office and management roles would be removed at Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted – but it insisted there would be no cuts in frontline security staff.
Details emerged as BAA posted improved results for the six months to September 30 despite the impact of wildcat strikes at Heathrow and the London bombings.
BAA said it also overcame the impact of a slowing UK economy on consumer spending and travel plans to report a 9.6% increase in underlying operating profits to £412m (€608m).
Retail sales at its seven UK airports including Gatwick and Stansted rose 3.8% to £324m (€478.7m) in the first half – a better performance than many high street chains, which have suffered from a sharp fall in footfall.
Combined with a 2.5% rise in the number of passengers passing through its airports and higher landing fees, this helped overall revenues to rise by 6.4% to £1.17bn (€1.7m).
