According to reports by the Civil Aviation Authority, airports in Britain handled 17 million fewer passengers than what they did in 2008. This big 17 percent slump in airline passengers put airports in the UK back at 2004 levels. This represents the largest annual decline for airports in 65 years. It was also the very first time that this figure has fallen two years in a row.

The Civil Aviation Authority director of economic regulation, Harry Bush, said that the figures show the biggest fall in passenger numbers since the second World War. This highlights the enormous impact the recession had over the aviation industry as a whole. He continued that passenger numbers are now back to the level they were almost six years ago. Although these numbers will rebound, the pace of recovery is uncertain, and it could be a number of years before they reach their peak levels again.

At the end of 2009, the airline industry did start to see some signs of improvement. However, airlines were still showing a rate of decline. In the first quarter of the year, airports showed a decline of 12.5 percent when compared to 2008. By the end of the year, or quarter 4, the airlines still showed a 3.8 percent decline. This is, of course, an improvement but still a decline.

The Civil Aviation Authority went on to show that regional airports were, by far, the worst affect than those in London. In fact, London airports had a fall in traffic of only 4.9 percent on average. This was compared to the 10.7 average that was seen at regional airports.

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Filed under Business & Finance, Travel News, UK News

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