British Airways passenger figures held steady in the peak month of August despite fears that the airline’s ongoing cabin crew dispute could cause widespread travel disruption.

The airline carried 3,154,000 passengers in August 2010, only 3,000 shy of the 3,157,000 in August 2009.

BA added that it was seeing strong yield performance in both premium and non-premium sectors.

There had been fears that a cabin crew walk-out might have been called over the August Bank Holiday weekend. However August passed without any industrial action, with passenger figures suggesting that forward bookings have not been adversely affected by the threat of strikes.

BA’s UK and European route passenger numbers rose 1.8 percent last month compared with August 2009. But Asia Pacific traffic was badly hit, down 11.1 percent, while North and South America numbers – including the Caribbean – were down 2.9 percent and Africa and Middle East passengers fell 0.1 percent.

BA’s planes flew 84.4 percent full last month compared with a figure of 84.7 percent in August 2009.

The union Unite described the figures, in particular within premium classes, as “worrying.”

A Unite spokesman said: “Willie Walsh has failed to recapture those passengers he lost last year, and has in fact lost even more. Passengers pay for service and stability and while Willie Walsh continues to wage war on his workforce he can offer customers neither.”