Airline passenger numbers fall for first time since 1991

In September, the number of passengers handled at the 18 leading British airports declined by 4.5 per cent, from 20.8 million down to 19.9 million, according to figures just released.

The largest airports saw the major decreases in passenger numbers, with Heathrow Airport down by 3.6 per cent, Manchester by 6.7 and Gatwick by 6.8 per cent.

This drop in traffic coincided with a reduction in the number of flights in the airspace across Britain, of 2.6 per cent. The number of flights has decreased for three months running.

Figures suggest that air traffic growth, which was continuous from 1991 up until recently, and fuelled by the availability of low-cost flights, is coming to an end. The data indicate that cheap flights may be coming to an end as well.

In addition to the economic downturn, causing travellers to cut back on luxuries such as holidays abroad, observers are citing the flying public’s awareness of the environmental impact of air travel on the decrease, as well.

Other issues which are said to be deterring would-be air travellers at this time include baggage handling problems and long security queues.

The new statistic are the most recent woe for an industry that has seen the collapse of carriers and travel operators, most recently the XL Leisure failure, which saw 85,000 tourists stranded abroad on holiday.

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