Southend Airport records 95% drop in flights while Dundee exceeds 2019 levels, aviation analytics firm Cirium reveals, as part of a summer of mixed fortunes for UK airports.
Based on Cirium’s flight tracking data looking at passenger flights departing the UK largest airports, Q3 2022 (July to September):
- On average, departures from UK airports during Q3 2022 were 20% below the same period in 2019, before the pandemic
- Dundee Airport was the top performer in the UK, with departures in Q3 32% up over Q3 2019
- Flights departing Bournemouth Airport, ramped in the summer which resulted in flights being only 3% down versus the same quarter in 2019
- Bristol Airport closely followed, as summer services also ramped up, with a total of around 3,030 flights departing each month from the UK, resulting in Q3 flights only 4% down compared to 2019
- The largest drop in flights at a large UK airport compared to Q3 2019 was seen from Southend Airport, with departures plunging by 95% YoY
- Norwich Airport and Cardiff Airport were also affected, with flights being down 56% and 52% respectively compared to the same period in 2019
- London Heathrow Airport, Britain’s busiest airport, recorded 19% fewer departing flights in Q3 2022 versus 2019
- With Gatwick’s focus on leisure destinations, its recovery was ahead of Heathrow’s, with only a 11% drop in departures compared to Q3 2019
- Out of the London-based airports, Stansted fared best with departures only 8% down compared to the same quarter in 2019.
The latest departures in October 2022:
- London Heathrow saw the most departing flights in October, reaching nearly 17,030 departures in the month – 17% down compared to October 2019
- GatwIck’s recovery was stronger than previous months, as departures in October were only 6% down compared to October 2019
- In October, flights departing Stansted were only 3% down compared to 2019, recovering to 7,340 departures, compared to 7,530 in October 2019.
- During October half-term, 17,598 flights were scheduled to depart UK airports – equating to over three million seats
- Departures from UK airports during October half-term remain 18% down compared to the same period in 2019 when there were 21,394 departing flights
- Departures are up 55% compared to half-term 2021, showing the continued recovery of the industry
- The most popular international destinations for UK departures were Dublin, Amsterdam and Palma de Mallorca
- easyJet was the largest airline during the holiday period, with 3771 departures from the UK, followed by British Airways, Ryanair and Jet2.com
