Early Easter blamed for Heathrow dip but bigger jets give a lift

Heathrow's passenger numbers dipped 0.7 per cent to 5.8 million in April, but the airport blamed the decline on the earlier timing of Easter this year.

Combining March and April's figures, traffic was up 1.6 per cent over the same period in 2012, mainly because of bigger jets landing at the airport, as its take-off and landing slots are full to capacity.

Italy, France and Norway were the most popular destinations.