Passengers returned to the airport after the Iraq war and Sars scare

BAA also revealed that passenger numbers hit 10.8 million in March, a 10.4% rise on the same month last year.

The sharp increase was due to depressed figures in March 2003, when the Iraq conflict led to a fall in air travel.

BAA operates airports at Heathrow, Stansted, Gatwick, Southampton, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Budget boost

Heathrow saw an 11.6% increase in passenger volumes in March, compared with the same month in 2003.

Meanwhile, Stansted saw a rise of 21%, and Gatwick managed a rise of 0.6% despite a 17.6% drop in charter traffic.

But the group's biggest success story was Southampton which saw passenger numbers surge 86.9% thanks to the growth of low-cost scheduled services.

Elsewhere, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports performed solidly with a combined monthly growth rate of 7.1 pct.

Steady growth

North Atlantic traffic enjoyed a strong recovery as passengers returned following recent terror scares, with numbers up 12.1% - with Heathrow performing particularly well with growth of 16.6% on such routes.

Other long haul traffic rose by 20%, European scheduled traffic also recorded gains of 12.6%, and UK domestic routes gained 6.6%.

But the charter market remained relatively weak with a drop of 9%.

BAA also revealed that as a result of a slow recovery in world trade and cut backs in air services following the deadly Sars virus outbreak, cargo fell 1.3% to 1.7 million tonnes.