Ski season flights down to traditional winter destinations, new data suggests

The number of flights to the traditional ski destinations of Switzerland, France and Austria are down this winter while lesser known resorts have seen an upturn.

The reduction in the number of flights and seats from the UK to the three countries is disclosed in latest data produced by aviation analytics firm, Cirium.

Flights to Switzerland are down 3% year on year, France by 1.5% and Austria by 5%

By contrast air links to less traditional ski locations have increased, with Slovenia up 63.5% over last winter; northern Italy seeing a 9.3% rise; Poland 6.3% and the Nordic region 4.8%.

Despite this, a total 28,052 flights are scheduled to depart UK airports for a number of airports catering to The Alps, equating to almost five million seats across the December 1 - April 30 winter sports season.

The most popular airport gateways to The Alps are Geneva, Zurich and Munich, with Heathrow seeing the largest number of departures, followed by Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Luton.

EasyJet is projected to be the largest airline to The Alps, followed by British Airways, Ryanair and Swiss.

The busiest single day for departures is February 14, the first day of school half term for much of the country, with 336 flights due to depart, equating to more than 62,000 seats.

However, March is projected to be the busiest month, with 6,249 flights scheduled, representing more than 1.1 million seats, according to Cirium.