Regional airports a hit with the over-50s

When booking a holiday flights from regional airports are the preferred option for the over 50s, according to new UK research.

A poll of more than 10,300 over 50s conducted on behalf of Saga Holidays found that 51 per cent prefer to fly from regional airports, with 46% overall stating they would pay more for the convenience. Only one in five respondents said they would rather fly from larger airports such as London Gatwick or Heathrow.

The research also revealed that over half of respondents would change airline in order to fly from their preferred regional airport. In addition, one in four would not book a holiday package from a travel company if it didn’t offer flights from their regional airport, and one in five would change their destination altogether.

Increased convenience

The top reasons for opting for regional airports were that they were closer to home (88%) and less busy (73%). The over 50s generation also showed their travel-savvy nature with one in three saying they chose regionals as they offered cheaper parking and one in four because of better transport links.

The poll also revealed that 62% of respondents had flown from regionals in the past three years and when rating these by experience, the three that came out on top were Doncaster Sheffield Airport (90%), Exeter Airport (88%) and Newcastle International Airport (88%).

Maria Whiteman, managing director of Saga Holidays said: “The over 50s have a passion for travel and an appetite for adventure, they want to explore the world and discover new and exciting destinations but they clearly want to do it in a way that is as stress-free and convenient as possible.

“Over recent years we have seen an unprecedented interest from customers who want to travel from their regional airports. Accounting for 58% of the UK’s travel and tourism spending, the overs 50s are an extremely important age group for the industry.”