First fall in air passengers for 17 years

UK airports handled 1.9% fewer passengers in 2008 than in 2007, with Stansted particularly hard hit.

Passenger numbers flying from UK airports fell by 4.6 million to 235 million in 2008 according to new statistics from the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority). But it was the last quarter of the year when most of the decline took place. Airports handled four million fewer passengers from October to December 2008 than in the same period in 2007.

The largest monthly drop was in November when passenger numbers fell by 8.9%, followed by December with a 7.9% decline. CAA group director of economic regulation, Dr Harry Bush, thinks the downward spiral is likely to continue in 2009:

“The early indications are that the larger falls seen in the last quarter of 2008 are continuing into the New Year, with the prospect of declining traffic in 2009 overall, which, if it occurs, will be the first time since World War Two that UK passenger numbers have fallen for two consecutive years. Current economic trends make this outcome more likely than not,” he says.

Performance at London airports was mixed. At Stansted, where the government has given permission for passenger capacity to increase by 10 million, passenger numbers in 2008 dropped by 1.4 million, a 6% decline.

But at Luton airport passenger numbers were actually up by 2.6%. London City airport experienced its fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth with a 12% overall increase, although growth slowed to just 2% in the fourth quarter of the year.

At regional airports, the overall fall in passenger numbers was 1.8% to 98 million. The largest regional airport, Manchester, handled 3.8% fewer passengers. But Birmingham airport was busier, with 4.8% more passengers.

A new report from the CAA shows that visits to friends and relatives (VFR) has been the major contributor to passenger growth in recent years. Provisional data from the report shows that VFR traffic as a proportion of total traffic at UK airports is broadly the same in 2008 as it was in 2007.

The largest increase in passengers was to and from Poland, up 15.4%. But the decline in people taking holidays in Spain is clearly seen by the 978,000 fewer passengers travelling to and from the country. Fewer people also took holidays in the USA, with passenger numbers down 3.3%.

Written by: Nick Purdom

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