41 Purpose of passenger travel
41.1 EUROCONTROL recommended values
Figure 41.1 shows the distribution of aircraft according to the purpose of travel.
The results are based on the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) departing passenger survey, which is carried out at selected airports (Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, and Manchester), usually every year but interrupted from March 2020 onwards due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The scope of the statistics is travel to, from and within the UK over a five-year period (2015 – 2019).
The “holidays” travel increased by 4 percentage points (p.p.) and “visiting friends and relatives” was up 2 p.p. On the other hand, “business travel” went down by 2 p.p., while “miscellaneous” travel decreased by 5 p.p. between 2015 and 2019.
41.2 Further reading
Below are listed some sources recommended to consult in the frame of this topic:
EUROCONTROL public airport corner tool[1] provides access to non-confidential information relating to the purpose of travel from a specific airport
UK Department for Transport in its table TSGB0114b[2] publishes overseas travel by air: visits to and from the UK by area and purpose – all modes for years 2011-2019 and 2021. This data does not include domestic travel by air
UK Civil Aviation Authority Passenger Survey Reports[3]
In its Yearly Compendium of Tourism Statistics[4], UN World Tourism Organisation publishes arrivals by main purpose (personal, business and professional)