Transport Statistics Great Britain: 2022 International Travel and Freight
Published 15 December 2022
© Crown copyright 2022
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/transport-statistics-great-britain-2022/transport-statistics-great-britain-2022-international-travel-and-freight
About this release
Transport Statistics Great Britain (TSGB) presents an annual summary of statistics for cross-modal transport topics, mostly relating to the calendar year 2021. This condensed set of highlights focuses on international travel and freight, and is complemented by other Department for Transport (DfT) releases presenting more detailed and recent statistics. See the Transport Statistics Finder to explore what other statistics are published by DfT.
Other cross-modal topics of TSGB, can be found in separate articles:
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and transport statistics
Most of the statistics in this release cover the period when national and regional measures were introduced to prevent and reduce the global spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). Transport trends have been affected by these measures, which can be seen in the official statistics in this report.
Where we travel by air, sea and international rail
Data Source: TSGB0201, TSGB0202, TSGB0205, TSGB0507, TSGB0509, TSGSB0510
Looking at terminal passengers, the vast majority (79%) of air passengers handled at UK airports were international terminal passengers in 2021. Most passengers travelling by sea were on domestic routes (84%).
Considerations
Definitional differences exist between air and sea passengers.
Sea passengers data is collected by the DfT from operators at route level, so a passenger travelling domestically between two ports will be counted in the statistics only once.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) receives passenger data directly from airports. They count a terminal passenger as a passenger joining or leaving an aircraft at the reporting airport. A passenger travelling domestically between 2 reporting airports is therefore counted twice (once as a departure and once as an arrival).
In this chapter, air passengers travelling to oil rigs are counted as international passengers. This aligns with the approach taken by the CAA in their UK airport data, and with the aviation data tables accompanying this release.
Rail in this section refers to traffic handled on the Channel Tunnel, which includes Eurotunnel and Eurostar passengers.
Comparisons have been made to 2019 as well as 2020, as 2019 was the last full year before the COVID-19 pandemic started.
In 2021, there were:
-
64.3 million air terminal passengers, of which 79% were international terminal passengers
-
35.3 million passenger movements by sea, 16% of whom travelled internationally by sea
-
5.4 million passenger movements on short sea (ferry) routes, down 71% on 2019, of which
-
66% travelled between France and the UK
-
34% travelled on other international ferry routes between Europe and the UK
-
-
5.8 million passengers who used the Channel Tunnel to travel to and from Europe, down 73% on 2019
Sea passengers on pleasure cruises are included in the above but excluded from further annual figures as destination breakdowns by Europe and Rest of the World are not available.
Of the 50.6 million international passenger movements at UK airports in 2021:
- 76% travelled to and from Europe
- 7% travelled to and from North America
- 1% travelled to and from Oil Rigs
- 16% travelled to and from other parts of the world
Chart 1: International passenger volumes by air, sea, and rail, from 2011 to 2021
From 2011 to 2019, the number of air passengers to and from the rest of the world rose steadily to 70.7 million in 2019, from 55.4 million in 2011. However, the number fell sharply (by 75%) in 2020. In 2021 this number fell further, and was down by 83% relative to 2019.
The number of sea passengers to and from the rest of the world fluctuated between 40,000 and 90,000 between 2011 and 2019. In 2019, there were 75,000 passengers travelling to and from the rest of the world, 73% greater than in 2011. In 2020, the number of passengers fell sharply, by 85%, to 11,000, and in 2021 the number fell further (by 95% relative to 2019) to 4,000 (Chart 1).
In line with previous years, passenger numbers to and from Europe were much higher for air travel than sea or rail. From 2011 to 2019, the number of passengers travelling by air and rail gradually rose. The number of passengers travelling by sea declined between 2014 and 2019, from 21.3 million to 18.4 million. In 2020, the number of passengers across all modes sharply decreased. The number of air passengers declined by 76%, sea passengers by 63% and international rail passengers by 62%. This decrease continued into 2021, where relative to 2019, air passengers declined by 79%, sea passengers by 71% and international rail passengers by 73% (Chart 1).
The number of international passengers sharply declined in 2020 for all modes and all world regions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This decrease on 2019 was even larger in 2021, however this is largely because the start of 2020 was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Definition
International short sea routes include all ferry routes between Great Britain or Northern Ireland and the rest of Europe. See DfT’s port freight notes and definitions for further information on which countries are included in these regions.
Sea passenger figures include tourist, leisure, business travel, and freight drivers accompanying cargo. Freight drivers were exempt from many travel restrictions the government put in place to ensure continual flow of freight.
Overseas monthly air and short sea travel in 2021, compared to 2019
Data Source: TSGB0205, TSGB0507, TSGSB0508
Chart 2: Monthly international air and short sea passenger movements in 2019, 2020 and 2021
Air and short sea passenger numbers for 2021 remained low from January to June, at between 0.7 million and 2 million for air, and between 0.2 million and 0.4 million for short sea. Both increased after that, as COVID-19 measures were relaxed, and we entered the summer period. Short sea passenger volumes peaked in August at around 730,000, compared to 2.8 million in August 2019 (a decline of 74%). October 2021 was the peak month for air passengers, with volumes around 9.2 million, compared to 22.3 million in October 2019 (a decline of 59%).
By December 2021, air and short sea passenger volumes were still below pre-pandemic levels. Short sea passenger volumes in December 2021 were 59% lower than December 2019, while for the same month, air passenger volumes were 60% down (Chart 2).
International freight
Around 360 million tonnes of freight were traded with the UK in 2021.
Of this total:
-
around 95% was moved by sea
-
an estimated 4% by international rail
-
an estimated 1% by air
Considerations
This section excludes domestic traffic from totals and road freight trade across the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland border.
Sea and air figures reflect 2021 data, however for rail only tonnage carried on freight trains is available as well as the number of trucks. Data for tonnage of cargo handled in trucks on Eurotunnel has been estimated using an average tonnage per truck.
Related statistics
Use the Transport Statistics Finder to explore, download and view the statistical content published by the department.
The sea passenger statistics, all routes 2021 release covers the impact of the pandemic on sea passenger routes, as well as a timeline of events relating to international travel.
| Chapter section | Related topics |
|---|---|
| Where we travel by air, sea and international rail |
Aviation Public attitudes towards transport Rail Sea passengers |
| Overseas monthly air and short sea travel in 2020, compared to 2019 |
Aviation Public attitudes towards transport Rail Sea passengers |
| International freight |
Port freight Rail Road freight Shipping fleet |
Background Information
We would welcome any feedback on these statistics by email. We will attempt to address any comments in a subsequent release.
Notes and definitions for each of the topics covered in TSGB are available.
The majority of the annual statistics in this release are National Statistics. This means they are produced to high professional standards set out in the Code of Practice for Statistics. They undergo regular quality assurance reviews to ensure they meet customer needs.
These annual statistics were designated as National Statistics in July 2010.
Details of ministers and officials who receive pre-release access to these statistics up to 24 hours before release are available.
Instructions for printing and saving
Depending on which browser you use and the type of device you use (such as a mobile or laptop) these instructions may vary.
You will find your print and save options in your browser’s menu. You may also have other options available on your device. Tablets and mobile device instructions will be specific to the make and model of the device.
How to search
Select Ctrl and F on a Windows laptop or Command and F on a Mac
This will open a search box in the top right-hand corner of the page. Type the word you are looking for in the search bar and press enter.
Your browser will highlight the word, usually in yellow, wherever it appears on the page. Press enter to move to the next place it appears.
Contact details
Publications, dissemination and Transport Statistics Great Britain