The accounts released by BAA’s holding company show that it spent £977m on capital expenditure in 2006 compared with £875m in the previous financial year. The airport operator said the drop was the result of it nearing completion at Heathrow Terminal 5.

The accounts also break down BAA’s capital expenditure programme for the next five years. It plans to spend £4.54bn at Heathrow before 2013, a programme that will involve the building of Heathrow East, the demolition of Terminals 1 and 2 and the refurbishment of Terminal 4. At Glasgow, it will spend £874m and it anticipates spending £683m at Heathrow and £181m at Gatwick this year.

Although a second runway at Stansted is still subject to a planning inquiry, BAA has so far spent £63m preparing its application. It expects the costs of preparing and undertaking the planning application will be about £66m.

BAA is also to give up to £100m to people affected by the expansion of Stansted through three “voluntary blight schemes”. These allow local residents and businesses affected by the expansion to soundproof their homes, or relocate if necessary. At the end of the financial year, it had already paid out £66m.

Similar schemes will come into effect at Heathrow if a third runway is approved, but BAA does not quantify its potential obligations.