Frequencies and capacity within the UK for April are down year-on-year by 13% and 14% respectively, representing a drop of 5,078 flights and 476,000 seats.
Airlines have scheduled 33,783 domestic UK flights this month, the lowest April total since 2001.
International services to and from the UK are down by 10% (11,237 fewer flights) with a 9% fall in capacity (1.6m fewer seats).
The UK low-cost sector is not escaping the cutbacks, with a 16% drop in domestic services and seat capacity. Internationally, low-cost airlines have scheduled 4,887 fewer flights to and from the UK with a 12% reduction in capacity, representing 853,000 fewer seats.
The figures are revealed in the April 2009 edition of OAG Frequency and Capacity Trend Statistics (FACTS).
On a global scale, the world's airlines have scheduled 6% fewer flights for April 2009 compared with the same month last year, with a 3% drop in seat capacity.
David Beckerman, vice president, marketing intelligence at OAG, said: ‘The sharp drop in UK flights compared to last year reflects the fact the UK has been particularly hit by recessionary effects.’
See also:
European airline traffic Mar09 (09/04/2009)
Airlines axe hundreds of Europe routes (02/04/2009)
Airlines see eighth successive monthly decline (24/03/2009)
bmi announces domestic route cuts (19/02/2009)