The boss of Essex's Stansted Airport is confident that the industry has weathered the worst of the storm that followed in the wake of the US terror attacks.

The airport industry has been in turmoil following the events of September 11, as passengers judged the risks too high and chose to stay away.

But in a report to the airport's consultative committee, managing director John Stent confirmed that in spite of the crisis, which actually led to major airlines Lufthansa and SAS withdrawing all flights from Stansted, the number of people passing through the airport had continued to rise, and he was confident that other airports were now beginning to follow its lead.

He said: "BAA's experience with the Gulf War and the Falklands indicates that passenger traffic growth will not be affected in the longterm and I am able to report that we are seeing improving passenger figures across the BAA group as confidence returns."

Around 13.65m people used Stansted Airport in 2001, making it its busiest year ever, while the Christmas period, during which 380,000 began their journeys there, also set new standards.

During the last four years, the total number of aircraft movements at the airport increased 42 per cent from 120,000 to 170,500, while employment has grown by about 1,000 a year to 10,000.

Published Tuesday, February 19, 2002