The UK's largest airport operator BAA has reported a rise in passenger numbers for August, which it said was partly helped by the competition between traditional and low-cost airlines.

Poor early summer weather in the UK and the World Cup are both believed to have contributed to the late season surge

BAA

BAA said it handled 13.2 million passengers last month, a rise of 2.3% compared with August last year.

The battle between airlines for custom was behind a big rise in passengers using domestic routes, BAA said.

European charter passenger numbers also saw a big rise, which BAA put down to a late surge following the World Cup and poor weather earlier in the summer.

BAA also announced that it had won permission from the local council to expand Stansted airport to allow it to handle an extra 10 million passengers a year.

'Busy' month

The air travel industry is still battling to recover from the sharp downturn sparked by last year's 11 September terror attacks.

But BAA said August had been a "busy" month, with destinations in the UK and Europe seeing higher passenger numbers.

A late dash for the sun saw European charter traffic rise 10.6%.

"Poor early summer weather in the UK and the World Cup are both believed to have contributed to the late season surge," BAA said.

Long-haul decline

Domestic traffic grew by 9.2%, which BAA said was down to new, lower fares from both traditional and low-cost carriers.

Airlines such as British Airways have launched aggressive price promotions in recent months in an attempt to claw back market share from the no-frills carriers.

But BAA said that the routes across the North Atlantic had continued to suffer, with passenger numbers down by 8% compared with last year.

Other long-haul routes saw a decline of 2.3%.

On the London Stock Exchange, BAA shares were up 4 pence at 534p during early morning trade.

Stansted expansion

BAA also announced that plans to develop Stansted airport had been approved by the local council.

Permission has been given to expand the airport's capacity to 25 million passengers a year, up from its present limit of 15 million.

The development will increase the number of flights a year from the current figure of 165,000 to 245,000 in about 10 years time.