UK airport passenger numbers drop 75% to 74m in 2020

The number of passengers travelling through UK airports fell by 223m last year, an annual decline of 75%, as governments imposed travel bans and restrictions because of the coronavirus pandemic. About 74m people passed through UK airports in 2020, less than a quarter of the 297m recorded in 2019, according to PA Media’s analysis of annual Civil Aviation Authority data. The Airport Operators Association (AOA) said the figures demonstrated the devastating impact of the virus on aviation. Cardiff airport suffered the largest drop in passenger numbers at 86.7%, followed by Glasgow Prestwick at 85.8% and Exeter at 85.5%. The figure for Southampton fell by 83.4%, London City by 82.3% and Leeds Bradford by 81.2%. Heathrow recorded a 72.7% decline from 80.9m passengers in 2019 to 22.1m last year. The figures include all passengers who travelled through British airports excluding the Channel Islands or Isle of Man. Demand for air travel collapsed in March 2020 when the UK went into its first national lockdown, mirroring lockdowns elsewhere and forcing airlines around the world to ground their planes. Travel began to recover by late summer and into the autumn, but passenger numbers plummeted again in November after many restrictions were reimposed in the UK as it faced a second wave of the virus. Karen Dee, the AOA’s chief executive, said: “These figures lay bare the devastating impact Covid-19 has had on UK airports. With passengers down nearly 90% between April and December 2020, airports’ economic output was decimated and significant numbers of jobs were lost.”<br/>