New insights from the aviation analysis company, Cirium, highlight a significant drop in the number of domestic flights within the UK, which has plummeted by over 50% in the past two decades. Currently, there are 213,025 flights scheduled for 2025, a stark contrast to the peak of 454,375 flights recorded in 2006.
This decline represents a loss of more than 240,000 flights compared to 2006, averaging a daily decrease of 661 flights across the country.
Several interconnected factors have contributed to this trend, including:
- Increased Air Passenger Duty tax
- Growing environmental awareness
- Airlines earning higher profits from international short-haul flights.
This reduction has severely impacted regional airports, with several, including Doncaster Sheffield (closed in 2022), Blackpool (2014), and Plymouth (2011), ceasing commercial operations over the past 20 years.
The pandemic-induced collapse of Flybe, historically the UK’s largest domestic airline, also affected available flights. However, the downward trajectory in domestic flights predates Flybe’s administration, with many routes taken over by other carriers.
In comparison to pre-pandemic statistics, 2025 is projected to have 75,896 fewer flights.
The total available seating has decreased considerably, falling by 35% from 39.1 million in 2006 to 25.5 million in 2025, indicating 37,000 fewer passengers flying domestically each day in the UK.
Since 2024, there has been a continued drop in flights, with nearly one million fewer seats available for domestic travel this year.
Shifts in consumer demand and airline strategies resulting from increased Air Passenger Duty rates, which doubled in 2007, have driven this overall decline in domestic flights.
Cirium’s CEO, Remy Bowen, shared: “This reduction over the past two decades shows a staggering change in the way we travel throughout the UK. Passengers are looking for more sustainable and affordable ways to travel domestically, prompting airlines to reduce their internal services and focus on popular international destinations like Spain, France, and Italy.”
This change aligns with a notable rise in rail travel, with the Office of Rail and Road (ORR) reporting a 50% increase in passengers, from 1.15 billion in 2005/6 to nearly 1.73 billion in 2024/5.
