February 17, 2025

GHBellaVista

Imagination at work

Exeter airport had just nine passengers in May

Just nine travellers handed by way of Exeter airport in May in accordance to calamitous figures which exhibit the depths of the travel crisis gripping Britain.

Traveller figures plunged from almost one hundred,000 a year earlier, airport bosses disclosed in evidence to East Devon Council as they sought a bailout.

There were still ninety nine.5pc much less people in July than past year and the airport faces a £620,000 invoice for business enterprise premiums.

East Devon Council has handed a aid package which will allow £180,000 of the bill to be paid out more than the future a few many years – the most allowed under EU state assist guidelines.

The slump has been reflected across Britain including at massive hub airports this sort of as Heathrow, forcing airways and similar companies to lay off tens of thousands of staff in a battle to endure as a golden age for air travel came to crashing halt.

General, passenger figures at UK airports could plunge by 40pc year on year, in accordance to Airlines UK’s forecasts for the twelve months to July 2021.

Exeter suffered the double whammy when regional airline Flybe collapsed in March followed by the pandemic that grounded  planes around the globe.

It is a spectacular tumble from grace after 1m travellers used the website in a twelve-thirty day period period of time for first time in 2019.