BA passenger numbers fall as strikes continue

the continuing industrial dispute involving British Airways cabin crew hit the airline's June passenger totals, it emerged yesterday.

BA said the first nine days of last month were affected by strike action, which contributed to the fact that BA carried 12.5 per cent fewer passengers compared with the same month last year.

Numbers dipped from just over 2.93 million in June 2009 to just over 2.56 million last month. BA planes flew 77.5 per cent full last month compared with 79.6 per cent in June last year. The industrial action and disruption caused by the Icelandic ash cloud crisis have meant that BA carried 16.9 per cent fewer passengers in the first quarter (April-June) of this financial year compared with the first quarter of 2009-10.

In revenue terms, the dip in traffic in the first quarter last year to the first quarter this year has been 14.9 per cent. Meanwhile, the no-frills airline Ryanair said it carried 6.71 million passengers last month, a 15 per cent increase on its total for June 2009.