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Aviation

Asked by Munira WilsonLiberal DemocratDepartment for TransportTabled Answered 5 June 2026UIN 3827

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what data his Department holds on the number of empty flights in the last year broken down by (a) airline and (b) airport.

Answered by Keir Mather

The Department for Transport does not routinely publish data on the number of empty flights, either by airline or by airport.

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) does however, publish a quarterly report detailing load factors at individual UK Airports. This report shows the capacity being utilised on passenger flights each quarter, including the percentage of flights that are empty with zero passengers and cargo on board.

The latest data for each quarter in 2025 can be found on the following webpage: www.caa.co.uk/data-and-analysis/uk-aviation-market/airports/uk-airport-load-factor-data/

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