According to a National Express survey, 20% of Britons have decided not to travel by plane this summer because of concerns over lost baggage, add-on charges and check-in delays.
The survey of 2,057 British adults, conducted online by YouGov from 16-19 May 2008, also found that over a third of travellers will holiday in the UK this summer to avoid airport stress.
Lost luggage was the greatest concern, cited by 28% of respondents, followed by add-on charges (27%) and check-in delays (24%).
And 21% specifically associated their anxiety with the adverse publicity surrounding the opening of Heathrow Terminal 5 in March this year, even though only 1% of Britons were directly affected by the problems.
National Express East Coast’s John Gelson said: ‘Particularly for domestic travel within the UK, there are so many other travel options, including the train and coach, which are cheaper, better for the environment and less stressful than travelling by air.
‘The disruption caused to air passengers when T5 opened has obviously had lasting effects on the travelling public in Britain.’
The survey also found that when choosing their mode of transport, 82% of respondents cited cost as the biggest consideration, 66% comfort and convenience, 63% journey time, 34% how stressful/relaxing the journey will be and 9% its environmental impact.
Finally, 25% of Britons said they were reconsidering their summer holiday plans faced with the threat of airport delays and disruption, while 11% of people with children aged seven to ten have decided to travel by train instead of plane.
National Express East Coast operates 137 weekday train services linking London King's Cross, the East Midlands, Yorkshire and Humberside, North East England and Scotland, carrying more than 17.4m passengers a year.
The company, which has a carbon calculator on its website, is encouraging travellers to consider the environmental benefits of going by train, instead of car or plane.
It claims that on an average journey from London to Edinburgh, a train produces 41kg less carbon dioxide than a plane.
See also:
15% of Brits never venture abroad (01/07/08)
NatEx driven by switch to public transport (27/06/08)
European charter/domestic declines hit BAA (24/06/08)
Domestic market benefiting from credit crunch (11/06/08)
East Coast trains more punctual than planes (25/04/08)
Survey shows no long-term impact of T5 chaos (14/04/08)