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January 2023 - Sport, Leisure and Tourism

Covid-19 is still greatest barrier to travelling by air: A survey by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has revealed that Covid-19 was the top barrier cited when it comes to why people did not take a flight in the 12 months prior to October 2022.

The survey of 3,500 people asked respondents about the reasons why they did not choose to travel by air as well as asking those who did, how satisfied they were with the experience.

Barriers to travel

The virus was more of a concern for older respondents found the survey, with 38% of those aged 55+ citing it as a concern, compared with just a quarter (24%) of 18-34-year-olds.

Other factors preventing people from travelling by air included the cost (29%), which was the second most common reason cited,  however this barrier was more likely to affect younger respondents, with 36% of 18-34-year-olds saying budget restraints stopped them flying, compared to 36% of respondents aged 55 and over.

The third most cited reason was concerns over flights being delayed or cancelled, which 15% of respondents overall said was a concern.

Of those who had travelled by air, 80% said they were satisfied with their overall experience, down two percentage points since last year's survey when the proportion was 82%. Six in 10 respondents  who travelled by plance (61%) reported disruption of some kind when travelling which was the highest proportion since 2016 when the CAA survey began.

CAA consumer director Paul Smith said: “Concerns about Covid-19 remained a big issue for consumers, with our research telling us that some consumers had a continued fear about the pandemic itself, although there was a strong recovery in the number of passengers travelling in 2022."

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