UK Air Travel Sees Record Low

UK airports saw their largest fall in passenger numbers in half a decade, falling by 7.4%.  This was the largest decline of its type since records began.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have also said that following the previous drop in 2008, this is the first time since the Second World War that the figures have dropped in consecutive years.

The decline is thought to be due to the substantial fall in holiday airline traffic, charter flights fell 17% as more and more Brits elected to beat the recession by holidaying in the UK as opposed to abroad. 

In total, UK airports carried 216.8 million passengers last year, the lowest figure in 6 years since 2004.  Domestic flights also fell by 8% whilst overall scheduled airline traffic saw a 6% drop.

Further to the falls, the CAA are also fearful that it may well be a number of years before any rebound or recovery is seen in the figures.

"Today's figures show the biggest fall in passenger numbers since the Second World War, highlighting the enormous impact the recession has had on the aviation industry," said CAA economic regulation director Harry Bush.

"Passenger numbers are now back to the level they were six years ago and, although they will certainly rebound, the pace of recovery is uncertain and it could be a number of years before they reach their peak level again."

Posted at 02:10PM Mar 15, 2010 by Marc Stenton in The Economy  |  Comments[0]