Airport passengers fell 79%
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON
NUMBERS IS REVEALED IN NEW REPORT
THE devastating impact Covid has had on Newcastle International Airport has been revealed in a new report.
Researchers at travel website MyBaggage.com, using Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data, compared passengers using the UK’s 15 busiest airports in 2019 with the numbers for 2020.
It showed that at Newcastle Airport figures plummeted in that time from 5,199,000 to 1,061,146 - a massive 79.6% drop and the fourth highest recorded.
The biggest fall was seen at London City Airport where passenger numbers plunged 82.3%, from 5,122,000 in 2019 to just 908,105 during 2020.
Leeds Bradford Airport saw the second largest reduction in passenger numbers, losing 81.2% of travellers with a drop of 3,992,000 in 2019 to only 751,048 in 2020.
East Midlands Airport experienced the third largest drop in passengers in percentage terms, a loss of 80.7% with 4,674,000 people using the airport in 2019 compared to only 900,832 last year.
The UK’s largest airport, London Heathrow, recently reported a £2bn loss in revenue and the new study shows passenger numbers there were down by 72.7%, going from 80,887,000 to 22,109,550 across the two years.
A Newcastle Airport spokesperson said: “As with all other airports across the UK, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our passenger numbers.
“The airport has remained open during the current lockdown to provide connectivity for those who need to travel for essential reasons.
“We look forward to the resumption of leisure flights, in line with the Government road map, but we expect it will be several years before passenger numbers recover to the levels of 2019. Newcastle International remains a strong regional airport and is well equipped to withstand this challenging period.”
A spokesman for MyBaggage.com said the research revealed the impact of the pandemic not only on the aviation industry as a whole but also on a regional level around the UK. He said: “The past 12 months has been nothing short of devastating for the UK aviation industry with a fall in passengers using our airports of around three quarters.
“But not all airports have seen the same impact, some have definitely been harder hit than others with the number of people travelling down by more than 80% in some locations.
“While these numbers are stark they still don’t show the whole picture. Each of these airports is a regional hub employing thousands of workers. With passenger numbers down to this extent, there will have been a dramatic knock-on effect across many industries. The tourism industry has of course been massively impacted but the full economic effect can only be guessed at.
“With the vaccine programme now well under way, everyone in the travel industry is hoping for a more positive second half to 2021 and for the aviation industry to recover over the coming months and years.”