Busiest ever April for Heathrow travel

World airlines are shunning Heathrow due to capacity constraints, a new report says (PA)

Britain's biggest airport, Heathrow, had its busiest-ever April last month, figures showed today.

The west London airport handled more than 5.8 million passengers in April 2011, airport operator BAA said.

Another of BAA's airports, Edinburgh, also enjoyed a record April, with passenger levels reaching more than 776,000.

Overall, BAA's six UK airports handled 9.1 million passengers in April 2011 - more than 31% up on the April 2010 total which was badly affected by the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud crisis.

Heathrow numbers last month were 31.5% up on April 2010, while Stansted was up 26.2%, Southampton rose 18.5%, Glasgow increased 27.1%, Edinburgh soared 43.9% and Aberdeen was up 33.2%.

The numbers were boosted by the Easter holiday season falling entirely in April this year and by the extra bank holiday for the royal wedding.

Gatwick Airport in West Sussex, formerly run by BAA and now operated by American organisation Global Infrastructure Partners, also had a record April.

The airport handled just under 2.76 million passengers last month - a 34.2% rise on the April 2010 total.