The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published results from the 2010 Air Passenger Survey, which questioned over 200,000 departing air passengers about their travel patterns at five London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City), and seven regional airports in the North and Midlands (Birmingham, Doncaster, Humberside, Leeds Bradford,…
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has published results from the 2010 Air Passenger Survey, which questioned over 200,000 departing air passengers about their travel patterns at five London airports (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City), and seven regional airports in the North and Midlands (Birmingham, Doncaster, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, Manchester and East Midlands).
The survey is carried out every year by the CAA to further our understanding of the people who use the UK’s airports and assist in our mission of regulating UK aviation to enhance passengers’ experience of it. The results and our interpretation of them are also an important part of our role in offering guidance and advice to Government about the aviation industry.
Commenting on the survey, Iain Osborne, CAA Director of Regulatory Policy, said: “The CAA surveys people using the UK’s airports to make sure that we understand how and why people travel by air to make sure that our regulation is tailored to their needs. This year’s results will inform our response to the Government’s work to develop an Aviation Policy Framework – with information about how passengers use the country’s major airports particularly relevant to Government.”
Key information from the survey:
The majority of passengers using Heathrow and London City airports in 2010 were foreign residents who represented respectively 58% and 51% of their total passengers. Heathrow’s percentage of foreign passengers has risen from 55% since 2007.
At those airports surveyed, Heathrow had the highest proportion of connecting passengers using the airport to change planes in 2010, at 36% of its passengers, a decrease from 38% in 2009 but up from the 2008 figure of 35% and the 2007 figure of 34%. By comparison, Doncaster, East Midlands, Humberside and Leeds Bradford all saw less than 1% of their passengers changing planes.
London City was the most business-centric airport in the study, with 63% of its passengers travelling for business purposes, returning almost to the airport’s pre-recession 2006 level and representing a seven percentage point improvement on 2009. The next highest were Humberside with 32% and Heathrow with 30%, whilst the airport with the highest proportion of leisure passengers were Doncaster with 97% and East Midlands with 92%.
Passenger income in general continued to grow when measured at those airports surveyed in 2008, 2009 and 2010. For instance at Heathrow, the average leisure passenger’s household income increased by £2,000 to £60,000 and at Manchester the average business traveller’s income rose from £65,000 to £68,000. Average leisure passenger household income dropped slightly at both Gatwick and Luton airports.
Travellers from Heathrow took a higher proportion of trips over two weeks in length than anywhere else, at 23%. In contrast, London City had the lowest proportion at only 2%. Outside of London, the highest percentage of trips over two weeks was recorded at Humberside, with 18%. The lowest was at East Midlands at 6%.
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