Passengers ‘waste time and money’ choosing London over local airports
Seven million airline passengers in the southwest and South Wales are wasting almost 1,000 years in additional travel time and £182 million between them flying from London instead of their local airport, according to a new study.
Holidaymakers flying to European leisure destinations are wasting the most time and money, it claimed.
Each passenger is £27 worse off in terms of lost time and travel costs per trip over the past four years, the analysis by York Aviation consultancy for Bristol Airport found.
Last year alone, leisure passengers wasted £101 million and business passengers £82 million.The average holidaymaker lost £17 each per trip compared with £67 extra for each business passenger, it claimed.
The number of passengers from the southwest and South Wales flying out of London airports has risen by almost 20% over the past four years to seven million in 2015.
More than 2.7 million people chose to fly from London to destinations also served by Bristol Airport, wasting 200 million minutes and £72 million in lost time and money, according to the report.
Bristol Airport is calling for improvements to road and rail links, claiming it is the only major UK airport without a rail link or dual carriageway access.
CEO Robert Sinclair said: "We are well placed to play our part in solving the country’s airport capacity crisis, and save travellers hundreds of millions in lost time. With the third runway at Heathrow still several years away, it makes little sense to continue funnelling passengers from other regions to airports in the South East.
"With better road and rail links, we could take the pressure off Heathrow and Gatwick and keep business connected and holidaymakers flying."
International Trade Secretary Dr Liam Fox, whose North Somerset constituency includes the airport, said: "It is vital that businesses can connect efficiently with markets in the post-Brexit world. Building world-class infrastructure around our regional airports will play a crucial role in supporting the trade links our country needs."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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