CAA 2013 Air Passenger Survey shows only 23% UK air passengers on business (30% at Heathrow, 14% at Gatwick)
The CAA has now released the data from its 2013 Air Passenger Survey. The survey asked 230,000 departing travellers at 13 of the main UK airports to fill in their surveys. The CAA carries out the annual survey (since 1968) to improve its understanding of the people who use the UK’s airports. This year the airports were: Aberdeen; Birmingham; East Midlands; Edinburgh; Gatwick; Glasgow; Heathrow; Inverness; London City; Luton; Manchester; Newcastle and Stansted. They found that • London City has the highest proportion of passengers travelling for business (55%), with the next highest being Heathrow (30%). • Airports with the highest proportion of leisure passengers were East Midlands (92%), followed by Gatwick and Luton (both 87%). • Heathrow had the highest proportion (37%) of connecting passengers, the same proportion as 2012, Gatwick had 9%. Though the aviation industry PR implies that air travel is vital for links to emerging economies for business, the reality is that only about 23% of air journeys in the UK are for business; about 30% business at Heathrow, and only about 14% at Gatwick (declining).
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Page 7 of the 2013 CAA Air Passenger Survey
The survey is at http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/81/2013CAAPaxSurveyReport.pdf
You can find earlier CAA Air Passenger Surveys here
2013 Download (Heathrow had 29.5% business passengers, Gatwick had 13.3%)
2012 Download
2011 Download
2010 Download
2009 Download
2008 Download (Heathrow had 34.1% business passengers, Gatwick had 16.7% )
CAA Air Passenger Survey for 2013 published
24.10.2014(CAA)
……. It waffles on first about the number of air travellers being waved off by relatives ……
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The CAA carries out the annual survey to improve its understanding of the people who use the UK’s airports. Thirteen airports took part in the 2013 survey namely: Aberdeen; Birmingham; East Midlands; Edinburgh; Gatwick; Glasgow; Heathrow; Inverness; London City; Luton; Manchester; Newcastle and Stansted.
Other key findings from the CAA’s 2013 Passenger Survey Report include:
• London City has the highest proportion of passengers travelling for business (55%), with the next highest being Heathrow (30%).
• Airports with the highest proportion of leisure passengers were East Midlands (92%), followed by Gatwick and Luton (both 87%).
• Travellers from Heathrow took a higher proportion of trips (23%) lasting more than two weeks, with London City lowest (3%). Outside London, Manchester had the most (14%).
• Heathrow had the highest proportion (37%) of connecting passengers, the same proportion as 2012, Gatwick had 9%. All the other airports surveyed had less than 4% connecting passengers, with East Midlands lowest at 1%.
• Heathrow and London City were the only airports where the majority of passengers were foreign residents (60% and 52%). Inverness had the smallest number (11%)
The CAA’s Director of Regulatory Policy, Iain Osborne, said: “Our annual survey data shines a light on the latest passenger trends and needs, providing an invaluable insight for the aviation industry.
“For example, do airports know how few people are being waved off, have they considered why and does this have implications for drop off facilities?
“While there are many excellent viewing facilities at UK airports, our passenger survey data tends to suggest they are not being used that much, and this may highlight a missed commercial opportunity.”
For more information, please contact the CAA Press Office, on press.office@caa.co.uk, or 020 7453 6030. You can follow the CAA on Twitter at @UK_CAA
* These figures exclude passengers who were using the airport to connect to another flight.
** Figures relate to passenger data at the 13 airports surveyed
Notes to editors
1. The 2013 survey forms part of a series, which began in 1968. Their purpose is to help airlines, airport operators and the Government to assess the provision of aviation infrastructure. They are also an important tool for profiling markets and identifying new ones.
2. Cycles of surveys were undertaken at major UK airports in the periods 1970-1972, 1975-1978, 1982-1987 and 1990-1996. Each cycle covered, by sample, 95% of terminal passengers in the UK and usually surveys were arranged so that airports in the same broad regions were surveyed at the same time.
3. Following the 1996 survey run at the five London airports, Birmingham, Manchester and four Scottish Airports demand built up for more regular survey data. After a consultation process with all interested parties, it was decided to run the survey continuously at Gatwick, Heathrow and Manchester Airports. Joining these Continuous Survey airports in 2001 were Luton and Stansted. Further information about survey cycles, including results from previous studies can be found on our website Click to read the CAA surveys
4. There are two different passenger survey questionnaires. The main questionnaire has been designed for passengers who have arrived at a UK airport by surface (terminating passengers) or those passengers who are transferring planes having entered the UK (landside transfer). The other questionnaire is for airside connecting passengers, these are passengers transferring to another flight. As the questionnaire for airside passengers is shorter, not all the statistics will include this group.
5. When weighting the departing passenger survey data, the CAA’s Aviation Intelligence team scale the results up to both departing and arriving passengers at a carrier-route level by quarter
6. The CAA is the UK’s specialist aviation regulator. Its activities include: making sure that the aviation industry meets the highest technical and operational safety standards; preventing holidaymakers from being stranded abroad or losing money because of tour operator insolvency; planning and regulating all UK airspace; and regulating airports, air traffic services and airlines and providing advice on aviation policy.
http://www.caa.co.uk/application.aspx?catid=14&pagetype=65&appid=7&mode=detail&nid=2394
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CAA Passenger Survey Report 2013
A survey of passengers at Aberdeen, Birmingham, East Midlands,
Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Inverness, London City, Luton,
Manchester, Newcastle and Stansted Airports.
15.3% Gatwick business passengers 2012
13.3% Gatwick business 2013
29.8% Heathrow business passengers 2012
29.5% Heathrow business 2013
From Page 6 of the CAA report (data simplified here)
By contrast, the figures from the 2012 CAA Air Passenger Survey – there were 24% business passengers (compared to 23% in the survey in 2013, of a slightly different set of airports, so not directly comparable)
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