Passages to India prove the big growth market for BAA

Flights to India are booming. Travel to the sub-continent is the largest single growing air market into and out of the UK -- up 50 percent over the past year, according to latest figures from BAA. In its first month under the ownership of its new Spanish master, Grupo Ferrovial, BAA was able to announce that its seven airports headed by Heathrow handled more passengers in July, up 3.1 percent at 15 million, than in any previous month. The figures showed the long-haul market other than across the Atlantic is its fastest-growing sector, up 8.4 percent on a year ago. Growth in the number of passengers flying the Atlantic, in contrast, was only marginally better than flat. There was a marked drop in regional flights, with passengers on domestic UK services down by nearly 2 percent.