COVID-19: Airline passenger numbers plummet – but which airports have seen the biggest drop? | Travel news

Passenger numbers fell by 223 million last year, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, new figures show.

Only around 74 million people traveled at UK airports in 2020 – less than a quarter of the 297 million the previous year, data from the Civil Aviation Authority show.

The airport with the largest drop in passenger numbers was Cardiff, which recorded an 86.7% success, followed by Glasgow Prestwick, which recorded an 85.8% drop.

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Southampton was down 83.4%, London City ridership fell 82.3% and Leeds Bradford fell 81.2%.

London Heathrow, the country’s largest airport and one of the busiest in the world, saw a 72.7% drop in number to 22.1 million, from 80.9 million the previous year.

It comes amid the near total collapse in international travel not only to the UK but globally in the wake of the pandemic.

There had been a partial recovery during the summer and early autumn of last year, but once restrictions were reimposed in the UK, travel virtually ceased.

The Airport Operators Association (AOA) said the figures showed the “devastating impact” of the pandemic on the industry.

AOA Chief Executive Officer Karen Dee said: “These numbers expose the devastating impact COVID-19 has had on UK airports.

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“With passengers down nearly 90% between April and December 2020, the economic output of airports has been decimated and a significant number of jobs have been lost.”

With travelers from nearly every tourist destination on the planet currently required to self-quarantine upon their return to the UK, Ms Dee warned that the government’s ‘overly cautious’ approach to reopening travel means that the summer will be “just as bad, if …