Continuing Covid-19 concerns, budget constraints and flight disruption fears have been highlighted as the main barriers to travel, Civil Aviation Authority research reveals.
Worries about Covid remains one of the most prevalent barriers to flying, the study involving 3,500 consumers found.
Despite the proportion of consumers citing concern about Covid falling markedly, some 32% of those who had not flown in at least the last 12 months cited this as a reason. And it is still a concern among a significant proportion of those aged 55 and over (38%).
The UK aviation consumer survey also found that the proportion of consumers saying they are ‘very satisfied’ with the overall travel experience fell considerably – from 39% in October 2021 to 29% in October last year.
Satisfaction with complaints handling saw a significant decline to 52% in 2022 from 71% in 2021.
Satisfaction with value for money also fell sharply from 76% in October 2021 to 68% in October 2022.
The regulator’s annual poll found that nearly one-third of consumers who have not flown recently, cited the cost of travel in light of budget constraints as a reason for not flying.
Costs were a bigger barrier to flying among younger people (36%) compared to those aged 55 and over (20%).
Those aged 18 to 34-years-old are also significantly more likely to use ‘buy now, pay later’ schemes to spread the cost of their holidays.
The survey also found that just 20% of those who have been impacted by the rising cost of living say they will not make any changes to their flight behaviour, while 24% of UK adults are either planning to reduce the amount they fly or not to fly at all over the next 12 months (19%).
Concern about flight disruption and cancellations was the third biggest common barrier to flying (15%), with the proportion of those who flew experiencing some form of disruption increasing to nearly two-thirds (61%), the highest proportion since the regulator began tracking in 2016.
Crowding at an airport (23%) and flight delays (22%) are the most prevalent forms of disruption faced by consumers, while Covid-related issues declined.
Those who experienced travel issues or disruption were also significantly less likely to be satisfied with the overall travel experience than those who did not (73% verses 89%).
The majority (83%) of consumers think that it is important their holiday is Atol protected.
CAA consumer director Paul Smith said: “Concerns about Covid-19 remained a big issue, 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.
“While it is welcome to see passenger numbers continue to steadily rise, we saw the challenges the aviation sector faced in the summer of 2022. The disruption experienced unsurprisingly put some people off flying due to fears of flights being disrupted or cancelled, with satisfaction levels also reducing.
“Our UK Aviation Consumer Survey provides a good indication as to how consumers are feeling, so it is particularly important the industry focuses on providing a better experience for consumers this year, and as the sector continues to recover in 2023, we would like to see satisfaction levels improve.
“As we move away from pandemic-related restrictions, the rising cost of living has the potential to have a major effect on the flying behaviour of consumers, with many looking to take measures to save money on their trip. We will continue to play our part in making sure consumers have choice, value for money, and are treated fairly when they fly.”