Just nine passengers passed by means of Exeter airport in Could in accordance to calamitous figures which present the depths of the travel crisis gripping Britain.
Traveller quantities plunged from practically a hundred,000 a yr earlier, airport bosses revealed in evidence to East Devon Council as they sought a bailout.
There were still ninety nine.5pc fewer readers in July than last yr and the airport faces a £620,000 bill for business enterprise premiums.
East Devon Council has passed a assist package deal which will allow £180,000 of the bill to be paid out about the up coming 3 several years – the optimum authorized underneath EU point out assist principles.
The slump has been reflected across Britain such as at large hub airports these types of as Heathrow, forcing airways and similar providers to lay off tens of countless numbers of personnel in a battle to endure as a golden age for air travel arrived to crashing halt.
In general, passenger quantities at UK airports could plunge by 40pc yr on yr, in accordance to Airways UK’s forecasts for the twelve months to July 2021.
Exeter suffered the double whammy when regional airline Flybe collapsed in March adopted by the pandemic that grounded planes globally.
It is a extraordinary drop from grace following 1m passengers made use of the web page in a twelve-month time period for 1st time in 2019.