Two million Brits heading overseas for Easter holidays

An estimated two million British holidaymakers are heading overseas during the Easter bank holiday weekend.

Travel trade organisation Abta, which calculated the figure, said there is strong demand for trips to mainland Spain, the Canary and Balearic Islands, the Algarve, Madeira, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy, Greece and southern Turkey.

Figures from aviation analytics company Cirium show 10,218 flights are scheduled to leave UK airports between Good Friday and Easter Monday.

That is up 11% compared with Easter 2022, but remains 13% below the total for Easter 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic.

Heathrow Airport will see the largest number of departures, with 2,445, followed by Gatwick, Stansted and Manchester.

Last year’s Easter getaway was marred by chaos at airports, with passengers facing long queues and widespread flight cancellations as the aviation sector failed to recruit and train enough staff to cope with demand.

Airports are running much more smoothly 12 months later, with no major issues reported.

Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “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.

“The getaway for Easter is also one of the busiest times of year on the roads so leave extra time to get to your departure air or seaport and, if using public transport, check for engineering work to ensure you start your journey without a hitch.”