The BA strike caused severe disruption

The company said a total of 13.2 million passengers passed through its airports in July, up 2.2% on the same period last year.

The increase, which reflected stronger traffic on European routes and towards long-haul destinations other than the US, made July its second busiest month on record.

BAA, which runs seven UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted in the south east of England, added that had it not been for the strikes at Heathrow, July would have broken all existing traffic records.

Net loss

It estimated that the strikes reduced total passenger numbers by about 100,000, with domestic and transatlantic routes most seriously affected.

But te company said there were signs that passengers were recovering their confidence after the Iraq war and the Sars outbreak, with traffic towards long-haul destinations other than the US picking up for the first time since February.

Check-in staff employed by BA staged a surprise walkout at Heathrow on 18 July in protest against a new electronic clocking-on system which they feared would be used to push through changes in working conditions.

The move, which came at the start of a busy weekend in the middle of the holiday season, forced BA to cancel hundreds of flights, leaving thousands of passengers stranded for up to three days.

It took several days for BA to restore normal service.

The dispute has since been resolved.