2003 AIRPORT results continue to roll in (ABTN will not be reporting in future on the monthly figures that some operators are now issuing ” annual, or at the most six months, seem to be adequate for all but the most investigative of readers). On the UK airport front BAA recorded passenger number sup 3.6% at 131.1m, compared with 2002. In the calendar year six of the group”s seven airports experienced their highest ever traffic levels, with Stansted in particular exceeding expectations, up 16.6% in 2003, to 18.7 million passengers. Only Aberdeen suffered a reduction. Following a record December, Birmingham (seen left) set a new annual passenger record for the twelfth successive year and broke through the nine million passenger mark for the first time. In 2003, 9,083,101 travellers used the UK”s fifth largest airport, an increase of 13.1% on the previous year. (ABTN would like to remind both airports and airlines to issue year end 12 month figures ” it helps considerably when preparing a comparison).