Airports operator BAA today blamed lower passenger numbers and higher security costs for a six per cent slide in quarterly profits.

The group said 32 million passengers passed through its airports in the three months to June 30, down 1.7 per cent on a year ago.

BAA chief executive Mike Hodgkinson said changes in the timing of public holidays had contributed to the lower passenger figures.

An extra £5 million has also been spent on security following the September 11 atrocities that hit traffic at Heathrow and Gatwick.

But Mr Hodgkinson said the group remained "well placed to ride out the current difficult period" in the aviation industry.

The amount spent by passengers before taking off has continued to increase with BAA's retailing revenues up 1.6 per cent to £126 million.

BAA plans to spend £8.1 billion on a major ten-year expansion programme that includes the construction of Heathrow's Terminal 5.