It now seems that things like the recession and the rise in the Air Passenger Duty tax are the main reasons why people are seeing a drop in passenger numbers, according to some experts. Due to the decreasing passenger numbers, the number of domestic flights in Britain has already fallen by a quarter in the past five years, according to the latest figures from the Civil Aviation Authority.

Reports go on to show that fewer than 9.6 million air passengers got on domestic flights in the first six months of this year. This is, of course, being compared to the 12.6 million that boarded domestic flights in the first half of 2005. Just this week even, Flybe became the newest airline to scrap some of its domestic services. One of the routes was between Bournemouth and Manchester.

These figures support the decrease in the number of domestic routes available in Britain. This is a trend that experts feel is a direct result from, not only the recession, but the Air Passenger Duty tax as well. If people remember, this Air Passenger Duty, which is a tax per person per flight, rose in price last year and is set to rise again this year.

The Air Passenger Duty increase for this year is set to come into affect in just two weeks time. According to reports, this should push the annual revenue raised from aviation tax in Britain up to £2.9 billion. However, that is only if people continue to fly. Some reports are suggesting that many people are simply not going to be using domestic flights this year to reach their holiday destinations. Thus, this would cut into how much money is made off the taxation of flights.