ABTA delivers Easter travel warning
ABTA is advising travellers to allow plenty of time for check in and security clearance at airports and ports this Easter due to increased security following the Brussels terrorist attacks on Tuesday.
It said two million British holidaymakers are expected to head overseas at over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend.
Thomson and First Choice said this would be their busiest Easter ever, and they will carry nearly 10,000 more passengers than Easter last year.
London airports will be especially busy with 425,000 holidaymakers departing from Heathrow alone from Friday March 25 to Monday March 28.
Gatwick is reporting a record-breaking Easter with around 290,000 departures over the weekend. Stansted will handled 157,000 and Luton 80,500.
Airports across the rest of the country will also experience large passenger numbers, with 200,00 from Manchester, 59,000 departing from Birmingham, 36,000 from East Midlands and 17,500 from Newcastle.
Eurostar is expecting 22,000 to depart from the UK on Good Friday alone. While a normal service has resumed following Tuesday’s explosions in Brussels, the train operator is advising customers to allow one hour to check in due to additional security checks at train stations.
ABTA said Spain is once again the most popular destination for the Easter break, with the Canary Islands in particular seeing large numbers. Geneva airport is expected to be very busy as skiers head to the Swiss, French and Italian Alps.
Further afield Orlando, Dubai, Mexico and the Dominican Republic are popular.
Thomson and First Choice said its customers were travelling further, with Cape Verde in the Atlantic showing a year on year rise of 50%, probably due to the fact that there are no packages to Tunisia and Sharm el-Sheikh this Easter.
Thailand is also showing a year on year increase of 26% and Florida also remains popular, with bookings up 11%.
VisitEngland estimated five million Britons will take a break in England this Easter, generating £1.5 billion in tourism spend.
According to the tourist board’s latest Trip Tracker Survey, in which 1,230 adults took part in an online survey, of those who have yet to book, 28% are waiting to see what the weather’s like and 26% will travel if they can afford it.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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