Passenger numbers at Scotland's airports fell last month in the wake of the debacle surrounding the opening of Heathrow's Terminal 5, new figures revealed yesterday.

The number of travellers passing through the country's three main airports dropped by 2.3% to 1.58 million last month, airport operator BAA said.

Routes to London were hardest hit, with traffic down 7.45%, in part due to baggage difficulties at T5 and bad weather in the south, which forced the cancellation of flights.

International traffic grew by 7.5% but this was offset by the drop in domestic, charter and helicopter journeys.

BAA Scotland spokesman Donald Morrison said: "With bad weather and baggage difficulties at Heathrow leading to a number of cancellations to and from Scotland, the drop in passenger numbers was not unexpected.

"However, overall passenger numbers continue to rise and international and long- haul traffic remains buoyant."

Edinburgh was Scotland's busiest airport last month with 720,012 passengers, a 1% increase on the same month the previous year.

Overall passenger numbers at Glasgow and Aberdeen airports fell.

Glasgow Airport handled 602,645 passengers, down 4.6% on the same period last year, due to a drop in domestic and charter traffic.

International traffic rose by 3%, however, with holiday resorts Palma, Las Palmas and Lanzarote enjoying strong growth.

At Aberdeen, passenger numbers fell by 5.8% to 262,181 last month but the popularity of European destinations continued to grow.