Road Warrior: UK airports to see slump in traffic from March

Slump in British air travel

Traffic through British airports will begin to fall as soon as next March, according to a report submitted to the UK government by Gatwick, Heathrow, London City, Manchester and Stansted airports.

The airports are warning of a huge slump in air travel. The report said that unless there is an interim deal, traffic between the UK and EU and passenger numbers could drop by as much 41 per cent between March 2018 and March 2019.

“With airlines, passengers and airports having to plan months if not years in advance, this has potentially detrimental consequences for UK competitiveness, trade, growth and living standards, which all become more significant the longer that UK and EU negotiators fail to deliver a new trading relationship or transitional deal,” the report says.

Business travel falling in UK

The number of overseas business trips made by UK residents fell by 1 per cent during the first half of the year.

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There were 3.72 million business trips abroad in the six-month period - down from 3.76 million visits during the same period last year, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

This compares with a 4 per cent rise in the number of overseas holidays taken by Britons in the first half of the year, which increased to 20.1 million.

The number of business trips to the UK also dropped by three per cent to 4.53 million during the first half of 2017.

Holidaymakers to the UK have risen by 20 per cent to 7.52 million.

The number of business trips to the UK by overseas residents also dropped by 3 per cent to 4.53 million during the first half of 2017. This compares with a 20 per cent rise in overseas holidaymakers to the UK, which increased to 7.53 million.

Philly on the rise

It looks like Philadelphia is in for a boom time. This week British Airways announced three additional flights per week to the city from next year.

Shannon Airport will also have an extended seasonal period to Philadelphia with 50 additional flights by American Airlines.

The airline will operate a Boeing 757 on the route and will begin services on April 5th until early October.

AA has already added 60 per cent increase in traffic since 2013. Hotel stock in Philadelphia is expected to rise by 20 per cent next year.

New openings are expected from a wide range of properties like the Four Seasons, as well as properties like the Cambria Hotel and Starwood's new dual-branded W and Element hotels.

Less security delay at Shannon

Transatlantic passengers from Shannon this year are expected to be around 550,000. The airport is trailing a one-stop EU/US Pre-clearance checkpoint. It eliminates the need for US bound passengers to queue twice for separate security checks. Shannon is the first airport in the world to trial this system.

Jscales@irishtimes.com