Crowded skies but no recovery

BRITAIN'S skies are at their busiest ever, official statistics revealed today. But hopes the airline industry is fully recovered from the crippling recession induced by the terrorist atrocities in the US nearly two years ago remain unfulfilled.

Flights from North America to Britain and through UK airspace to Europe remain down on pre-9/11 figures.

National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said last month's 195,763 movements were 3.3% ahead of the same month last year and up 1% on July 2001, the previous record month. But North Atlantic flights and overflights are down about 4% on two years ago.

Despite the loss of more than 400 flights due to cancellations during last month's British Airways strike, budget airlines flying 8,000 more services a month than a year ago boosted the figures.

'The new record is due mainly to continuing growth of no-frills carriers,' said Nats chief executive Richard Everitt. 'Movements by US carriers were down, suggesting that confidence has still not returned in the important US travel market.'

That is bad news for the part-privatised, loss-making Nats, which makes most profit from charging airlines flying the North Atlantic.

Europe's biggest airline, Lufthansa, today posted forecast-busting second-quarter profits of e65m (£45m). But with a e415m first-quarter loss, it does not expect to be in the black over the year.