The UK's air traffic controllers handled 5.1% more flights last month than in February 2005, National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said today.

The February 2006 total of 167,818 flights included a 4% rise in domestic flights handled, with air traffic at the 15 UK airports where Nats provides services growing by 4.3%. Traffic at Bristol airport was up by 20%, London City rose by 15.9%, Southampton grew by 12.2% and Farnborough in Hampshire 11.0%.

The number of transatlantic flights handled also rose last month - with overflights (those that do not land in the UK) up 7% and transatlantic arrivals and departures up 2.1% compared with February 2005.

Non-transatlantic overflights also grew strongly, up 19.1%, as a result of higher traffic volumes between Ireland and continental Europe, particularly Germany and Italy.

For the first two months of 2006 Nats handled 327,665 flights - a 5.4% increase on the January-February 2005 total.

The February figures included a rise of 5.4% in flights controlled from Nats' Swanwick centre in Hampshire. The West Drayton control centre in west London handled 4.8% more flights last month than in February 2005, while the Scottish centre at Prestwick reported an increase of 4.1%.

The figures come a day after a report revealed dangerously high levels of nitrogen dioxide at several UK airports. The EU says NO2 levels need to stay below 40 micrograms per cubic metre of air.

But Heathrow, Gatwick, Newcastle and Birmingham Airports exceed this recommendation by up to 75%, the report published by the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP) showed.