The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has released its official 2025 passenger survey, the production of which saw roughly 175,000 departing passengers interviewed at eight of England’s busiest airports.
Of those surveyed, the study has found that passenger satisfaction remains high across the country, despite traveller numbers continuing to grow rapidly.
In total, 225 million passengers travelled through the eight surveyed airports, an increase of 2% on the previous year. In 2025, overall passenger satisfaction increased to a score of 8.39 out of 10, an increase from 8.36 in 2024.
The findings show that passengers are becoming increasingly more likely to use public transport to travel to airports, whilst actual public transport (train, Tube/metro, bus) use increased by one point year-on-year to 38%, and private modes of transport (private car or taxi) to airports fell to 62%.
London City Airport saw the highest proportion of passengers arriving at the terminal via public transport (66% – up one point from 2024), whilst Stansted came in second place (48% – also up one point).
Overall, the survey found that business travellers tend to sit in the 35-54 range, whilst leisure travellers were drawn from a broader range of younger and older people.
Tim Johnson, Director of Consumers, Markets and Communications at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said:This annual survey provides a fascinating insight into the preferences of passengers travelling from the some of the country's busiest airports.
As the aviation industry continues to grow, it is encouraging to see that the level of passenger satisfaction with airports remains high.
As the way passengers travel to airports changes, it remains vital that all aspects of the journey - from doorstep to destination and back - are reliable, accessible and efficient.
