Airports set for Easter holiday getaway
[19th March 2008]
Around two million Brits will leave the country for an Easter holiday this weekend, many from their local airport, and last minute deals will be hard to find.
Heathrow airport will be the busiest airport with 450,000 expected to fly off in search of winter sun or a late skiing holiday. Next busiest will be Gatwick airport with around 260,000 passengers, followed by Stansted airport with 170,000.
In the north and midlands about 100,000 people are expected to fly from Manchester airport, 45,000 from Birmingham airport and 20,000 from Leeds Bradford airport.
In Scotland, Edinburgh airport is expected to be the busiest airport with around 65,000 people flying off, followed by Glasgow airport with 60,000 and Aberdeen airport with 22,000.
Other busy airports are likely to be Luton airport with around 60,000 passengers, and Southampton with around 12,000. On the trains Eurostar will also be very busy with around 70,000 people leaving the country by this means.
According to ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents), whose members provide 90% of the foreign package holidays from the UK, Spain will be the most popular destination this weekend. Tenerife is the biggest draw for holidaymakers in search of reliable winter sun. Next most popular short haul winter sunshine destinations are Egypt and Morocco. ABTA reports that most holidays and flights to Florida have sold out.
The top 5 city break destinations this Easter holiday are Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome and Venice says ABTA. Not surprisingly ski breaks are also in demand and most popular destinations for a skiing holiday are France, Austria and Canada.
“The early Easter has given our customers the extra option of heading to the slopes as well as topping up their tans, and the extended peak period has also seen a flattening out of prices, which has increased the number of holiday bargains for this time of year,” says ABTA president, Justin Fleming.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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