TSGB 2011: Aviation

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Summary

This chapter of Transport Statistics Great Britain presents statistics on activity at UK airports, including number of flights, passengers and volume of freight handled; flight punctuality; passenger characteristics and origins/destinations for passengers on international flights. The chapter also includes some statistics on activity by UK airlines; major international airports and airlines; casualties caused by aviation and air proximity incidents.

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Key points

There were nearly 211 million terminal passengers (arrivals and departures) at UK airports in 2010, a fall of 3 per cent since 2009 and 12 per cent since the peak in 2007.
There were 2 million air transport movements (take-offs and landings) in 2010, 6 per cent fewer than in 2009.
Freight handled at UK airports increased by 14 per cent to 2.3 million tonnes, following a sharp fall in 2009.
Heathrow is the UK’s busiest airport, handling 22 per cent of air transport movements, 31 per cent of terminal passengers and 63 per cent of freight tonnes in 2010.
In 2010, the five London airports accounted for 60 per cent of all terminal passengers at UK airports, down from 65 per cent in 2000.
The majority (71 per cent) of international passenger movements at UK airports in 2010 were to/from European origins/destinations. The most common country of origin/destination was Spain (including the Canary Islands), which accounted for 17 per cent.
In 2010, visiting friends and relatives (VFR) was the most common purpose of travel at Heathrow, Stansted and Luton. The proportion of passengers who are visiting friends/relatives has increased over the last decade at all 5 of the main UK airports.
There were 49 casualties caused by accidents in UK airspace in 2010 and 167 aircraft proximity incidents.

Table number	Table name	Alternative number
TSGB0201	Traffic at UK airports: annual, 1950 onwards	AVI0101
TSGB0202	Air traffic by type of service, operator and airport, UK: time series	AVI0102
TSGB0203	Punctuality at selected UK airports: time series	AVI0103
TSGB0204	Forecasts of terminal passengers at UK airports	AVI0104
TSGB0205	International passenger movements at UK airports by country of embarkation or landing: time series	AVI0105
TSGB0206	Proportion of transfer passengers at selected UK airports: time series	AVI0106
TSGB0207	Mode of transport to selected UK airports: time series	AVI0107
TSGB0208	Purpose of travel at selected UK airports: time series	AVI0108
TSGB0209	UK airports (map)	AVI0109
TSGB0210	Main outputs for UK airlines by type of service: time series	AVI0201
TSGB0211	Worldwide employment by UK airlines: time series	AVI0203
TSGB0212	Traffic at major airports, worldwide: latest year	AVI0301
TSGB0213	Passenger traffic on major airlines, worldwide: latest year	AVI0302
TSGB0214	Casualties caused by aviation accidents, UK: time series	AVI0401
TSGB0215	Aircraft proximity (AIRPROX): number of incidents, UK airspace: time series	AVI0402

Technical information

Full guidance on the methods used to compile these statistics and their sources can be found in the Transport Statistics Great Britain 2011 Notes and Definitions: