In the results of a new survey released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) this week, there has been a recorded improvement in flight disruption reports following late July. However, these reports are still at a concerning high for the travel industry.
In the first half of August, 34% of UK air travellers reported flight disruption when going abroad on their holidays. This is compared to the 38% that was reported in the ONS survey that was carried out from July 20th to July 31st.
The early August survey from the ONS covers more than 2,000 adults in the UK and was conducted over the course of the 3rd to the 14th of August. Over a third of these travellers went overseas in the past eight weeks and experienced some form of disruption, with statistics differing on different modes of transport.
According to the survey, 22% of UK adults travellers abroad across this eight-week period. From those adults, 88% travelled by air, 21% travelled by rail, and 16% travelled by a boat or ferry to their destination. Travellers aged 16-29 were reported as the most likely to have travelled abroad with 26% doing so, but the largest level of flight disruption was reported by those aged 30-49, with 39% of those travellers finding disruption on their journey.
Among the 88% of adults who travelled via plane in the eight-week period, 34% experienced a flight disruption, with 80% of the disrupted travellers experiencing a delayed flight or extra waiting time on the plane, and 25% of the disrupted travellers reported their flight had been cancelled.
Of the disrupted air passengers, 50% reported longer than normal queues in the airport itself, and 25% claimed they experienced longer waits for luggage than usual.
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