The Daily Mail reported this week how the number of travellers using British airports has fallen for the first time in 17 years.
It has been widely reported in recent months that the credit crunch and weak pound have put millions off international travel – encouraging twice as many Britons are planning to spend their holidays in the UK this year – but this is the first time that figures have been released that back theses claims up.
The figures released by The Civil Aviation Authority, show British airports handled 235 million passengers in 2008, a fall of 1.9% on 2007 – only the fourth time since the Second World War that there has been a year-on-year decline. The 4th quarter, October to December, was hardest hit the falls of 4 million less passengers than the year before.
Experts believe that the steep fall in the value of the pound against the euro is one of the primary factors behind the drop, making holidays on the Continent approximately 30% dearer then a year ago.
The crisis has hit travel to and from Spain the hardest, with thousands of holiday-makers cancelling trips to the Costas. 978,000 fewer people visited the country from British airports last year, a drop of 2.8%, with many opting to take holidays outside Europe instead.
In contrast, the biggest increase in passenger numbers last year was on flights to and from Poland, up by 671,000, a 15.4% rise on 2007.
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