Two out of five UK travellers report disrupted journeys in July

Two out of five UK adults who travelled abroad in July reported their travel plans were “disrupted”, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) data published today.

The ONS survey, conducted in the final days of July, found 16% of adults travelled abroad in the previous four weeks, of whom 38% reported disruption to their plans.

Nine out of 10 (90%) travelled by air and, of those reporting disruption, nine out of 10 (87%) suffered a flight delay.

One in five (19%) said the flight they booked was cancelled.

More than half (56%) reported queues at airports longer than normal, almost one third (30%) reported a longer than usual wait for luggage and one in seven (14%) said their luggage was lost.

The ONS survey was conducted among 2,470 adults on July 20-31.

The findings on the extent of disruption come amid increasing concern about the cost of living and its potential impact on travel spending.

ONS researchers also asked respondents about the impact of rising living costs.

Nine out of 10 (89%) reported their cost of living had increased and 75% said they were ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ worried about it.

Almost two thirds (62%) reported they would spend less on non-essential items because of the rising cost of living.

However, ONS researchers did not ask respondents what sort of non-essential items they would spend less on or whether this would include travel and holidays.

The Bank of England warned on Thursday (August 4) that inflation would now peak at 13% this year and remain at a double-digit level through next year.

It forecast the UK would enter a recession in the final quarter of this year which would last throughout 2023.