Half of businesses expect to surpass 2019 air travel volumes

Face-to-face conferences will proceed to be a key driver of enterprise within the UK, and demand for air journey is predicted to extend, in line with a report for London Metropolis Airport by consultancy WPI Economics, launched on Thursday.

The report, which surveyed 1018 UK enterprise leaders, revealed 98 per cent of corporations that used air journey earlier than the pandemic will proceed to take action. Practically half (45 per cent) anticipate to extend air journey in comparison with 2019, with one in 5 (19 per cent) anticipating a rise of greater than 25 per cent. 

Moreover, 47 per cent of respondents who didn’t use air journey earlier than the pandemic mentioned they are going to be probably to take action within the subsequent two years. One in 5 (20 per cent) anticipate hybrid working to extend their use of enterprise air journey in future. 

Air journey will even show crucial to post-pandemic financial restoration, with 67 per cent of corporations saying they might lose shoppers or contracts if their group was unable to fly.

The report additionally highlighted regional enterprise journey as crucial to the UK authorities’s levelling up agenda, with half or extra of enterprise leaders in each nation and area of the UK reporting that air journey helps their enterprise to win new contracts, gross sales or funding.

Practically half (44 per cent) of corporations within the North of England mentioned they might lose shoppers or contracts in the event that they have been unable to fly. Half or extra of enterprise leaders in Scotland (54 per cent), Northern Eire (64 per cent) and Wales (48 per cent) mentioned that flying is important to do enterprise face-to-face. 

Nevertheless, lingering nervousness over Covid-19 (41 per cent), issues concerning the carbon footprint associated to air journey (26 per cent), and ongoing delays and cancellations at airports (29 per cent) are obstacles to a broader enterprise journey return.