Budget airlines are filling the space left behind by tour operators

Pre-tax profits at the UK firm, which also runs Cardiff and Belfast International airports, came in at �7.2m ($12m), down from �15m last year.

But TBI said the number of passengers using its airports in the six months to September had jumped to 9.95 million.

The rise, up from 8.71 million last year, came despite the withdrawal of tour operator MyTravel from Luton.

No-frills future

TBI said passengers flying with low-cost airlines accounted for 68% of all travel, up from 59% last year.

That compares with a fall in charter traffic to 25% from 30% during the previous year.

Cardiff International airport reported the strongest rise in UK passenger numbers, up 38% to 1.2 million following the launch of services by budget airline bmibaby.

Meanwhile, Dublin-based Ryanair was the latest no-frills carrier to establish links with a TBI-owned hub, after it launched services from Sweden's Skavsta airport - where passenger numbers jumped by 250% to 592,000.

TBI chief executive Keith Brooks said the refocusing of the company's airports as bases for budget carriers had helped cushion the effect of a slump in longer haul travel.