Commissioned by NATS and conducted by Ipsos UK, the NATS 2025 Aviation Index was set up to capture a detailed picture of public sentiment on air travel, sustainability, and innovation. The report, now in its eighth publication, sheds some insightful light on how people perceive aviation services and the expectations the industry should focus on.
While emissions and noise concerns have dominated the last few years, this year’s findings show travellers placing on-time departures and arrivals at the top of their list, just ahead of environmental impact.
The annual survey, which collects public attitudes to air travel across the UK, found that 47% ranked punctuality as the most crucial factor, a noticeable increase from 2023. In comparison, 56% of the respondents placed their bets on reducing emissions first. The public is also looking to the government (30%), airlines (26%), and industry bodies such as NATS and the CAA (23%) to lead meaningful climate action. NATS says it is working to tackle both concerns at once through airspace modernisation, a step it argues is essential to enable future eVTOL and drone operations without adding delays.
The survey highlights how travel habits have stabilized. In the past year, 52% of UK adults reported flying internationally, while 32% flew domestically. If we look at 2024, 50% of the public had flown either domestically or internationally. In the year ahead, one in four (26%) expect to fly more. Additionally, the cost of flying remains a key factor in travel decisions, cited by 89% of respondents.
Why the Shift in Priorities
The change in priorities may not be entirely abstract. In August 2023, NATS experienced a major technical issue, which caused thousands of flight delays and cancellations across the UK and Europe. It was the worst outage in a decade. Though the company moved fast to investigate and implement technical safeguards, public frustration lingered. A separate, shorter issue in July 2025, which delayed flights for under half an hour, still triggered widespread disruption due to the knock-on effect across schedules.
The index also highlights how there is a growing public awareness of the need to modernise “invisible infrastructure”. Around 52% believe that UK airspace will become more efficient if flight paths are changed, while 69% believe airport expansion is impossible without upgrading airspace first.
Commenting on the findings, Simon Warr, NATS’ Communications Director, said: “Travellers are telling us what they value most: punctual, environmentally responsible flying. It’s no surprise, given the operational events of recent years. These results help keep us honest and focused on the right things.”
NATS remains committed to cutting emissions across the network, with investments in smarter airspace and digital tools already reducing track miles and fuel burn. However, the Index confirms that passengers are no longer willing to trade reliability for sustainability. They expect both.
There is also a growing acceptance of aviation innovation, including drones, flying taxis, and AI-enabled services. While safety and human insights are non-negotiables in these areas, 68% still support AI for baggage screening and 50% for managing flight routing.
Despite the growing irritation with disruption, especially among regular travellers, the survey found that confidence in the aviation system remains stable, though less forgiving when it comes to outages.
Why the Industry Must Rethink Performance
What do the findings mean for the industry? For one, operational integrity can’t be taken for granted. Strategic improvements are necessary to prevent staff shortages, ageing infrastructure, and the pressure to meet green targets from exacerbating the expectation gap. Delays are no longer seen as bad luck; they are perceived as failure.
The results come at a time when UK air traffic volumes are approaching pre-COVID levels, and NATS alone managed 2.6 million flights in 2024. That level of demand raises the stakes for day-to-day resilience.
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The index also looked at airspace modernisation. While awareness remains low, approval is high among those who understand what it means. The number of respondents who have heard of the concept has increased from 15% in 2024 to 24% in this edition. Support for changing flight paths has also increased, reaching 52%. Lastly, the majority (69%) agree that expanding UK airport capacity depends on upgrading the nation’s airspace infrastructure.
For those working in aviation, the message is straightforward: reliability has reclaimed its place as the public’s number one concern. The industry has made progress on emissions, and passengers still care about that, but not if flights can’t leave the gate.
