UK air travel grows for third year in a row
UK airports have seen three years of passenger growth, according to latest figures released by the Civil Aviation Authority, but traffic is still below the 2007 peak.
Last year, UK airports handled 228 million passengers, a rise of 3.5% – or 7.8 million more than in 2012.
"This growth continues the recovery started in 2011 following three years of falling passenger numbers," it said.
"Passenger numbers for 2013 were 8.5% above 2010 levels (210 million passengers), although still 4.8% below 2007’s peak of almost 240 million passengers."
Iain Osborne, CAA director of regulatory policy, said: "Our figures show the strength of underlying demand for air travel, which picked up well in advance of the general economy.
"Solid growth in UK GDP may mean that passenger numbers continue to grow healthily. This is happening despite a shortage of runway capacity in the South East, as for the time being airlines operating bigger and fuller aircraft is allowing passenger growth to outstrip growth in numbers of flights.
"The prospect of growth underlines how important it is for aviation to tackle its environmental impacts – notably, reducing aircraft noise and carbon emissions. Addressing these issues is vital if aviation is to grow."
At the London airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, London City and Southend – the increase was 3.5% to 140 million passengers.
Heathrow, Gatwick London City and Southend each handled their highest ever annual total: 72.3 million passengers used Heathrow 3.4% more than in 2012, 34.2 million (3.5% more) used Gatwick, 3.4 million (12% more) used London City and Southend grew 57% from 617,000 to 970,000 passengers in the year.
Luton grew by 0.8% and, after five years of declining passenger numbers, Stansted grew by 2.2% to 17.8 million.
At other UK airports outside London, traffic rose by 3.5% to 88.7 million passengers. All airports with over a million passengers per year saw increases, with the exception of Liverpool and Belfast International, which saw declines of 6.1% and 6.7% respectively. Manchester saw the largest absolute rise of 1 million passengers (5.2%) to 20 million.
The majority of UK airport passengers (137 million) were travelling to or from geographical Europe – representing an increase of 4.1% from 2012.
Within this, the largest absolute increase was in passengers travelling to and from Spain (up by 1.6 million, an increase of 4.8%), while the largest fall in passengers travelling to and from an individual European country was Cyprus, where numbers fell by 7.2% (0.2 million).
Egypt and Kenya registered the largest absolute declines in passenger numbers with 97,000 and 85,000 passengers respectively.
In 2013, 20 million passengers took UK domestic flights, representing an increase of 2.2% on 2012. This was the first yearly increase in domestic passenger numbers since this segment peaked at 25 million in 2005.
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
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Major rail disruptions around and in Berlin until early 2026