London Luton summer passenger numbers down two-thirds on 2019
Just 1.2m passengers used London Luton airport over the summer months, a fall of two-thirds compared to pre-pandemic levels.
As a result of the UK’s ever-changing travel restrictions, the airport said that this was 4.0 per cent than the number in 2020.
It called on the government to give the sector more support in order to guarantee its recovery.
Chief executive Alberto Martin said: “We recognise the effort Government is making to try to help the sector navigate this difficult period, but these figures make clear the need to urgently overhaul the current travel system in order to restore passenger confidence and enable the sector to trade its way through the winter season and out of the crisis.
“Further specific financial support is also needed while the outlook remains so uncertain.”
The government is due to release its review of the current travel rules on 1 October, but today the health secretary offered a strong hint that the sector might get its way.
Speaking in the House of Commons, he all but confirmed that ministers would scrap the need for returning travellers to take costly PCR tests on the second day after returning to the UK.
Such tests have been a major bugbear for the industry due to the additional cost they pose to travellers.
Recent analysis from the Evening Standard showed that travellers have spent more than £1bn in total on the pricey tests, which cost an average of £93, since May.