AAP Alpha Airports

RNS Number:0637X
Alpha Airports Group PLC
23 May 2007



               Alpha Airports Group Plc ("Alpha" or "the Group")

                          Interim Management Statement


This first Interim Management Statement, as required by the UK Listing
Authority's Disclosure and Transparency rules, relates to the period from 1
February 2007 to 23 May 2007.


Current Trading Update

Overall revenues in the first three months of the financial year grew 6%
compared to the same period last year. Group operating profit was in line with
the same period last year.

In Alpha Airline Services, which (trading as Alpha Flight Services) provides
catering logistics, in-flight catering, bonded stores and management services to
airlines, revenue increased by 5%.  In the UK, strong growth in in-flight retail
offset the impact of the terminations of the ThomsonFly and BA Connect
contracts, resulting in an increase of 1% for the division.  Internationally,
revenue was up by an impressive 27% with particularly strong growth in
Australia, following recent contract wins with Malaysia Airlines, Air New
Zealand and Etihad, and in Romania.

In Alpha Airport Services, which (trading as Alpha Retail) operates retail
stores and catering outlets at airports, revenue increased by 7%.  Revenue
growth in the UK of 8% was ahead of the increase in passenger volumes.  At our
international businesses, revenue was up by 3% with a strong performance from
the US offset by the impact of contract losses in Turkey and the heightened
security issues in Sri Lanka.


Contracts Update

In March, we announced that our Alpha Flight Services division had signed a
three-year contract to provide catering services for Etihad Airways' direct
flights from Sydney to Abu Dhabi. This service, which commenced on 27 March 2007
is the carrier's first to Australia and is initially operating three times a
week but will, from June 2007, become a daily service.  This follows the
successful commencement of the Air New Zealand contract in February 2007.

As expected, following its acquisition of BA Connect, Flybe made the decision
not to take over Alpha's contract with BA Connect and we therefore ceased
providing services in March 2007.  As previously announced, it is anticipated
that this loss of business will have a net impact on profitability of
approximately #1m in the current financial year.

In the UK, we recently announced that, following a competitive tender, we have
secured a three and a half year extension, commencing on 1 January 2008, to our
contract with American Airlines for in-flight catering services for all of the
airline's flights from London Heathrow and London Gatwick.  As well as the
Heathrow and Gatwick extensions, American Airlines has additionally awarded
Alpha a three and a half year contract, also effective from 1 January 2008, for
all its in-flight catering requirements from Manchester Airport.

At our UK Retail division, as previously announced, the concession agreement
with BAA in respect of the "World News" confectionery, tobacco and news stores
at Heathrow Terminal 3, Edinburgh and Aberdeen will expire on 30 September 2007.
It is anticipated that its expiry will have no significant impact on
management's expectations of profit for either this financial year or the next.

We were delighted to announce that our Alpha Retail division has signed a
Licensing Agreement with Starbucks Coffee Company (UK) Ltd to open a number of
coffee stores in various UK airports through a structured roll-out programme
over the next few years. Alpha Retail will be working closely with Starbucks in
seeking and developing premier retail coffee outlets in UK airports.  The first
store is set to open landside at Jersey Airport in October 2007.

In India, Alpha's joint venture with Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited was
expected to commence trading at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi
in January 2007.  However, due to a number of issues, including delays in
receiving various regulatory approvals and trading clearances, the stores were
unable to open until the end of March.  This delay has resulted in pre-trading
costs being significantly greater than originally expected.  Additionally, in a
market where the airport experience has traditionally left a lot to be desired,
the first month's footfall and trading performance were disappointing.  We
believe, however, that as awareness of our shops and the quality of the retail
experience grows, we will see increased footfalls.  In the meantime, we are
encouraged by the high levels of spend once travellers enter our shops.


Outlook

The issues in Delhi and the heightened security situation in Sri Lanka are
expected to be factors in the full year results but at this stage it is too
early to assess their full impact. Elsewhere, our trading outlook remains in
line with our expectations.

The implementation of the new Group strategy is progressing well and is expected
to bring a greater focus to the Group's activities.  The recent agreement with
Starbucks is an example of the new direction that the Group is taking.



                                                                     23 May 2007



Enquiries:

Alpha Airports Group Plc                    020 8580 3200
Peter Williams, Chief Executive
Mark Adams, Finance Director

College Hill                                020 7457 2020
Mark Garraway
Kate Pope



Note:

This Interim Management Statement has been prepared solely to provide additional
information to shareholders as a body to meet the relevant requirements of the
UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules and the statement
should not be relied upon by any other party or for any other purpose.

The Interim Management Statement contains certain forward-looking statements.
These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties because they relate to
events that may or will occur in the future and could cause actual results to
differ materially from those expressed. Many of these risks and uncertainties
relate to factors that are beyond Alpha's ability to control or estimate
precisely, such as future market and economic conditions, the actions of
competitors, operational problems and the actions of government regulators.
Alpha undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements.




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