Due to the closure of UK airspace following the volcanic eruption in Iceland, all BAA’s UK airports have been closed since midday on Thursday 15 April 2010.
BAA is working with National Air Traffic Services, airlines, regulatory authorities and the UK Government to get passengers flying again and ensure our airports are ready to resume operations at short notice. The safety of passengers remains our highest priority.
According to the latest information available from NATS, Scotland’s airspace is expected to open at 7am tomorrow (Tuesday), and the airspace around London airports may open later tomorrow.
BAA entered this period of disruption with funding available to mitigate the impact of the closure of the UK’s airspace. We do not at this stage believe that the closure of the airports will have a material impact on the airports’ ability to finance their activities.
As at 31 March 2010, Heathrow and Stansted airports, which comprise BAA’s regulated airports group known as BAA (SP) Limited, had cash and undrawn facilities of over £2.2 billion and were operating well within their financial covenants.
In addition, the current expected maximum daily impact on Adjusted EBITDA and cash flow of the airport closures is expected to be £5-6 million across all of BAA’s UK airports. This may be offset by factors such as the recovery of lost revenue once the airports re-open and reductions in operating costs.
BAA’s London airports are scheduled to publish financial results for the three months ended 31 March 2010 on Thursday 29 April 2010, when a further update will be provided.
