CAA figures combined with Brittany Ferries numbers show more holidaymakers are abandoning flights for sea crossings, according to the operator.
Brittany Ferries says there has been a 17% increase in the number of its foot passengers from January to July this year compared with the same period last year.
That figure excludes groups and day trippers, which means it can be compared with potential air passengers to western France and northern Spain.
This same period, the CAA reports that the number of air passengers between the UK and France and the UK and Spain fell by 13.8% and 13.9% respectively.
Brittany Ferries has excluded its April figures when it carried an extra 28,000 foot passengers who were victims of the ash cloud.
by Dinah Hatch
