Hesitancy about flying appears to have fallen among UK adults, with research suggesting two in five UK adults feel less likely to fly on holiday this year due to Covid-19 compared with more than one in two in late October.
Research firms Service Science and Kantar asked respondents on behalf of Travel Weekly in May how likely they were to fly on holiday in 2021 and 40% said they would be less likely this year – with 27% agreeing they were ‘strongly’ less likely.
That compared with 52% who reported in October last year that they would choose a holiday destination for 2021 that they could reach by road rather than fly.
The improvement in willingness to fly appears to be overwhelmingly among those aged 45 and over, suggesting it is linked to vaccination rates and could similarly rise among younger adults.
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Just 30% of respondents aged 45-64 said they were less likely to fly, compared with 48% among 25-44-year-olds, whereas last October 50% of 45-64-year-olds said they would prefer not to fly and 51% among those aged 25-44.
Almost one in two parents with children at home (48%) said were less likely to fly compared with 58% last October.
Two out of five 16-24-year-olds (41%) reported in May that they were less likely to fly, a similar rate to those of 65 and over (43%). In October, 45% of young adults and 54% of those aged 65-plus appeared reluctant to fly.
Service Science and Kantar surveyed 1,278 UK adults on behalf of Travel Weekly on May 4-6.