Glasgow Airport has seen a decline in passenger numbers

Air operator BAA - which runs Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports - said there had been a 1.7% drop in January.

The company said strong winds and thick fog had led to cancelled flights, while a crash landing at Heathrow also had a knock-on effect.

Domestic traffic was down by 6.1%, but international figures grew by 8%.

Economic uncertainty

Glasgow was affected by the decline in the international charter market, with demand for traditional charter holidays falling by 14.4% in January.

Total passenger numbers fell by 6.1% to 501,475 at the airport.

BAA spokesman Donald Morrison said: "It is likely that the continuing economic uncertainty is also having an impact on demand for air travel, particularly at Glasgow, where the majority of carriers are low cost or holiday airlines and where the market is primarily leisure-based.

"There are signs that the charter market will recover in the latter half of the year but, until then, it is likely that we will see the slowdown in demand at Glasgow continue."

He added that the company was working to attract new airlines and destinations to its airports.

Edinburgh was Scotland's busiest airport in January with 588,243 passengers, up 3.9% on the previous year.

Aberdeen Airport handled 232,093 passengers, which was down 4.7% on the previous year.