British airports operator BAA said today a 2.9 per cent rise in passengers at its seven British airports in June showed a gradual recovery in demand for air travel after the Iraq war and SARS.
The owner of the world's busiest international air travel hub, London's Heathrow airport, said it handled 12 million passengers in June.
Downward pressure on its key North Atlantic routes eased, with traffic down only 1.6 per cent from the same month last year.
"Other long-haul markets, affected by the SARS [Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome] travel restrictions, were down 3.2 per cent but have started to show improvement since the restrictions were lifted," BAA said.
Ryanair and EasyJet - as well as fare cuts by full-service carriers such as British Airways - helped boost demand for travel on European scheduled routes, said BAA.