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CAA publishes 2006 Air Passenger Survey
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Date: 20 September 2007 |
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The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) today published its 2006 air passenger survey, which questioned over 200,000 people at 11 UK airports about their travel patterns.
CAA airport statistics show that the number of travellers using UK regional airports continues to grow. Last year, 98 million passengers (42 per cent of the total) flew from a regional airport compared with 95 million in 2005 – an increase of four per cent. In 2006, 137 million passengers (58 per cent of the total) used one of the five London airports surveyed (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and London City) compared with 132 million in 2005 – an increase of three per cent.
Last year, 28 per cent of passengers travelled from Heathrow, a decline of three per cent since 2005. Gatwick, Stansted and Luton retained their respective 14, ten and four per cent share of UK passengers, whilst Manchester witnessed a one per cent reduction to nine per cent.
In its latest annual passenger survey, the CAA interviewed passengers at the five London airports and at Belfast City, Belfast International, Birmingham, Londonderry, Manchester and East Midlands airports. Key findings showed that:
- Dublin was the most popular destination for leisure passengers at the five London airports, followed by Edinburgh, New York (JFK), Malaga and Amsterdam. Edinburgh was the most popular route for business passengers from the London airports, followed by Dublin, Glasgow, Amsterdam and Manchester;
- Across the regional airports surveyed, Palma, Alicante and Malaga were the most popular international destinations for leisure passengers and the most popular long haul point was Orlando. The most popular destinations for business travellers from the surveyed regional airports were Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin and London;
- Business passengers accounted for 64 per cent of all passengers using London City, the highest proportion in the survey. This compared with 41 per cent at Belfast City, 36 per cent at Heathrow and 29 per cent at Belfast International;
- Business passengers using London City had the highest average individual incomes at £96,000, compared with £83,000 at Heathrow, £64,000 at Gatwick, £62,000 at Luton, and £59,000 at Stansted. Outside London, the average individual income of business passengers was lower, at £63,000 in Manchester and £49,000 at Birmingham;
- Nottingham East Midlands attracted the largest proportion of leisure passengers at 88 per cent, compared with 87 per cent at Londonderry, 83 per cent at Gatwick and 82 per cent at Stansted;
- The total household income of leisure passengers at London City was around £78,000 per annum, considerably more than their counterparts at Heathrow (£58,000), Gatwick (£54,000), Stansted (£47,000) and Luton (£48,000). In the regions, leisure passengers using Manchester had average total household incomes of £44,000, Birmingham and Londonderry £41,000, and both Belfast airports £38,000;
- The most popular method of transport to many of the surveyed airports was by private car, used by 77 per cent of passengers at Belfast International, 69 per cent at Nottingham East Midlands, and the lowest, 17 per cent, at London City. London City had the highest proportion of public transport users at 42 per cent, while the lowest public transport usage was at Londonderry at two per cent;
- The proportion of passengers changing planes was significantly smaller at the regional airports surveyed, with less than one per cent of passengers changing planes at Belfast International, Belfast City, Nottingham East Midlands and Londonderry. This compared with around 34 per cent at Heathrow, 12 per cent at Gatwick, 10 per cent at Stansted, four per cent at Luton, three per cent at Manchester and two per cent at both Birmingham and London City;
- The highest proportion of non-UK residents using a UK airport was recorded at Heathrow at 55 per cent, with the lowest at Belfast International (seven per cent). At Stansted it was 37 per cent, Londonderry 27 per cent and Birmingham 18 per cent;
- The average age of terminal passengers at the surveyed airports ranged from 44 at Manchester, Birmingham and East Midlands to 39 at Belfast City; the average age at Heathrow was 40.
The survey will be used to inform airlines, airport operators, the Government and other interested parties.
Key statistics for individual UK airports are available at www.caa.co.uk/airportstatistics.
A summary of the survey is now available to download free of charge from the Civil Aviation Authority’s website (www.caa.co.uk/surveys). More detailed analyses can be obtained by organisations or individuals for prices starting from £125.
For further information please email us at commercial@caaerg.org.uk.
For press enquiries, contact the CAA Press Office on 020 7453 6030 or press.office@caa.co.uk.
Notes to editors:
Survey information is derived from the systematic random interviews of departing air passengers. Further detail on methodology is available on request.
The 2006 survey forms part of a series, which began in 1968. Its purpose is to collect information that will help aviation stakeholders, including airline and airport operators, to better understand the characteristics of air travel to and from the United Kingdom.
Of the 11 airports included in this project, surveys are conducted on an annual basis at Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Manchester and Stansted, and every three to five years at Belfast City, Belfast International, Birmingham, Londonderry, London City and Nottingham East Midlands airports. The UK’s other major regional airports are also surveyed every three to five years.
200,000 air passengers were interviewed at the 11 UK airports listed above – 75,000 at the six regional airports and 128,000 at the five London airports – between January 2006 and December 2006.
The information contained in this report has been compiled from interviews with departing air passengers. While it is not possible for CAA to verify each piece of individual information offered by each passenger, every effort is made to validate each response and conduct key validations, in an effort to improve overall data integrity. Consequently, the CAA cannot accept liability for any financial loss caused by any person's reliance on it.
The CAA is the UK's specialist aviation regulator. Its activities include: making sure that the aviation industry meets the highest technical and operational safety standards; preventing holidaymakers from being stranded abroad or losing money because of tour operator insolvency; planning and regulating all UK airspace; and regulating airports, air traffic services and airlines and providing advice on aviation policy from an economic standpoint. |
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