Air passenger arrivals plunged 82% in October

The number of air passenger arrivals into the UK fell by 82% last month as coronavirus travel restrictions continued to limit demand, official figures show.

Home Office data reveals 1.7 million people entered the UK on flights last month, compared to 9.8 million in October 2019.

This represents a decline in the slight recovery in arrivals recorded in August and September, when the year-on-year decreases were 74% and 75% respectively.

The Government is expected to announce the weekly update to its travel corridors list at 5pm on Thursday.

People arriving from listed destinations are exempt from the requirement to self-isolate for 14 days.

Last week, Namibia and Rwanda became the first African countries to be added, although the change was only implemented for people arriving in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

From December 15, travellers from non-exempt countries will be able to end their quarantine period early if they pay to take a coronavirus test five days after arrival in England, and receive a negative result.

The aviation industry has welcomed the move, but wants the Government to go further by introducing a system where pre-departure testing could eliminate the need to quarantine.

Leisure travel will no longer be banned when England’s national lockdown ends on December 2.