Snow hits London as air passenger numbers fall

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The number of passengers handled at BAA's six UK airports last month totalled 7.2 million - a fall of 3.1% compared with January 2009.

The decline was most marked in Scotland where numbers at Aberdeen Airport fell 13.6%, with Glasgow down 12.2% and Edinburgh declining by 7.4%.

There was a 9.7% fall at Southampton, while Stansted was down 5.6% and Heathrow handled 0.5% fewer passengers.

BAA said that without the weather disruption, numbers at Heathrow last month would have grown by an estimated 2.5%, while the overall decline at the six airports would have been only 0.3%.

BAA chief executive Colin Matthews added: "There is no doubt that the market remains a difficult one, and certainly the snow didn't help, but, equally, there are encouraging signs of growth, particularly on the routes out of Heathrow to the Middle East and South America, as well as cargo.

"This once again underlines Heathrow's role as the UK's only hub airport."

Meanwhile, London has been warned to expect snow showers today with up to four inches forecast.

Temperatures were set to plunge as low as minus 2C in central London tonight with sleet showers predicted throughout the day.

The cold snap is expected to continue until the weekend, with sleet returning to the capital on Saturday.