It is getting to be common knowledge now that foreign holidays are well and truly off the table for many people. And as a result airports are beginning to suffer the strains because less and less of us are heading to use their services in order to get out of this country and into another one.
This was confirmed recently by news stories that pointed to Bristol Airport’s troubles. Apparently they have seen their visitor numbers drop markedly in recent months, meaning that they are effectively doing less business than they were previously.
You might be surprised by the extent to which the numbers have fallen though. Recent reports seem to indicate that there is a full twenty per cent less people using the airport than there was in the same time in 2008. This obviously isn’t good news for Bristol, but it surely cannot be alone in its woes.
However although this news obviously isn’t very good, those who are in charge at the airport seem to think that it could be a temporary situation. Some believe that things could get better as we move closer towards the summer months, as the usual exodus towards the hot countries and familiar foreign destinations becomes more urgent.
But is this just wishful thinking? After all a lot of people have lost their jobs and it is very likely that less people will be flying abroad for a holiday this year than there normally would be. Things will undoubtedly get a bit better, but they may not get as upbeat as Bristol Airport hopes they will.
There are other more recent factors at play here as well. For example, it has recently been announced that the Met Office believes we will have a really good summer here in the UK. If this is the case then we will certainly see more people making the most of the various attractive places to go in this country, rather than using airports like Bristol to fly somewhere else. It also keeps the costs down.
And of course the new threat of swine flu is another factor to consider. People may not be willing to go anywhere abroad that might pose more of a threat than they would be subjected to at home.
Bristol Airport has had a few bad months to start the year, so it isn’t surprising to hear that they are looking forward to a better time during the summer. The heavy snow which blanketed much of the UK during February put a dampener on their business, with planes grounded and many people unable to make their flights. And now the economy is continuing to keep people away in their hundreds of thousands.
So can Bristol Airport really look forward to a great summer after such a disappointing start to the year? For the sake of their business we hope so, but we shouldn’t hold our breath. We do think however that most airports will bounce back eventually, just as the economy will.