Five million set to head overseas for festive breaks

More than five million people will be travelling overseas across the Christmas and new year period, Abta estimates.

 

Today (Friday) is set to be the busiest day for flight departures and Christmas Day the quietest.

 

Members of the travel association are reporting strong sales for mainland Spain, the Canary Islands, Portugal and Turkey. 

 

Other popular winter sun destinations include Palma, Dubai and Sharm El Sheik.

 

Resorts in France, Austria, Switzerland and Scandinavia lead the way for ski trips.

 

The most popular overseas new year city break destinations include Amsterdam, Barcelona, Budapest, Dublin, Geneva, Milan, Paris, Prague and Rome.

 

Top Christmas market cities are Tallin, Gdansk, Vienna and Cologne.

 

Millions of people will be leaving the country through the major airports, all of which are reporting high, in some cases record, numbers. 

 

Gatwick (pictured) expects December 28 to be the busiest day for travel over the Christmas break, with 757 flights. 

 

The airport has 249 flights scheduled on Christmas Day. 

 

Heathrow is projecting its busiest December and Christmas Day ever, while 700,000 are set to depart from Stansted, 400,000 from Luton, 750,000 from Manchester, 250,000 from Birmingham and 225,000 from Bristol. 

 

Hundreds of thousands of passengers will be leaving from Scottish airports. Edinburgh is reporting that more than 120,000 will be departing over its five busiest days.

 

A significant number of people are also set to travel across the Channel by ferry and through the Channel Tunnel or taking a cruise.

 

Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “Christmas and new year is always one of the busiest times of year and this year is no exception with some airports reporting record numbers travelling overseas. 

 

“It’s perhaps not surprising given how much importance people place on their holidays, and we know at this time of year they’re a great opportunity to have a well-earned break or reunite with friends and family.”

 

He added: “Abta members will be working hard to help people’s plans go as smoothly as possible. 

 

“We’re encouraging travellers to be mindful that the roads will be very busy, so leave plenty of time to arrive at your departure port or if using public transport, check for engineering work and scheduled closures of services. 

 

"Also, if you are heading to the slopes this Christmas, make sure you have the right travel insurance for your trip.”