UK airport traffic up by 8%

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UK airports welcomed 217m passengers in 2004, 8% more than in 2003, according to the latest Civil Aviation Authority report

The fastest-growing airport was Newcastle, which enjoyed an increase in passenger numbers of 21% to 4.72m. Traffic at regional airports grew by 9% to a total of 88m.

The five main London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City) handled 129m passengers in 2004, a year-on-year increase of 7%.

A total of 122m people flew to or from Europe, an increase of 7% on 2003. The Czech Republic proved to be the fastest-growing European route, showing a gain of 59% on 2003.

Traffic to and from North America rose by 9% on the previous year, but still failed to reach pre-September 11 levels.