About two million British nationals are expected to travel overseas for the Easter bank holiday weekend, with some of the most sought-out countries to spend this holiday being Spain, with its Canary and Balearic Islands, the Algarve region and Madeira in Portugal, as well as Cyprus, Italy, Greece and the southern Turkey.
According to travel trade organization Abta, the demand for trips to these destinations for this weekend is strong and has marked an increase compared to the corresponding time in 2022, VisaGuide.World reports.
Cirium, the aviation analytics company, reveals that 10,218 flights are scheduled to leave the UK between Friday and Monday, corresponding to Easter holidays. That is up by 11 percent compared to last year’s Easter holiday, but remains 13 percent behind the 2019 levels.
Heathrow Airport will witness the largest number of departures – a total of 2,445 followed by Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester airports.
Last year, airports were crowded during the Easter weekend, leaving passengers facing long queues and many flights were cancelled as the aviation sectors failed to train enough workers to cope with the demand. Now, 12 months later, airports are dealing with the demand considerably better, with no major issues reported.
“The Easter weekend is one of the busiest of the year for the travel industry and for some this will be the first overseas break since the start of the pandemic. Millions of holidaymakers will be heading off overseas for some much-needed warmth and sunshine after weeks of overcast and rainy weather at home,” Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer pointed out.
Tanzer also noted that Easter getaway is one of the busiest times of year for airports and transport in general, so he warns passengers to leave extra time to get to your departure air or seaport and those using public transport, should check for engineering work to ensure their journey will be operated smoothly.
In addition, roads are expected to be chaotic this Easter, despite rail union, RMT calling off strikes planned for March 30 and April 1, there is still a possibility to miss short-term travel plans for those that want to use the gateway on Easter.
On the other hand, Portuguese authorities have warned travelers over the chaos that may occur at local airports due to the high demand, thus, passengers are advised to allow more time at border checks and to follow guidelines by the authorities. Inconveniences may occur as a strike action is scheduled this weekend in Portugal which can cause flights to be cancelled or delayed.
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