1.7 million to escape for Bank Holiday weekend
More than 1.7 million Britons plan to escape uncertain UK weather by going abroad over the bank holiday weekend, ABTA estimates.
Today and tomorrow will be the busiest days with about one million flying from the South East alone, including over 400,000 from Heathrow, 250,000 from Gatwick, 150,000 from Stansted and 64,000 from Luton.
A further 400,000 will go from regional airports, including 140,000 from Manchester, 12,000 from Southampton and 31,000 from Nottingham East Midlands.
Although this weekend is not a bank holiday in Scotland, nearly 65,000 Scots are expected to head off to the sun by leaving the country.
In addition, 70,000 will use Eurostar for trips to Paris and Belgium. A further 320,000 people will be heading for France and Spain either by ferry or Eurotunnel.
Resorts in Mallorca, the Canary Islands, mainland Spain, Portugal and the Greek islands remain the summer holiday favourites, followed by Italy, Cyprus and Turkey.
Report by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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