Dubai a top destination as UK airports brace for two million Easter travellers

Dubai, Turkey and the Canary Islands are among the most popular destinations as two million British holidaymakers travel abroad over the Easter weekend.

Amid a wet and windy weather forecast for the UK over the bank holiday weekend, one airport is preparing for “record-breaking” passenger numbers.

Airports are reporting “strong numbers” according to the travel trade organisation Abta, with 175,000 people due to leave from Stansted, 105,000 from Luton, 160,000 from Manchester, 79,000 from Birmingham and 89,000 from Edinburgh between Friday and Monday.

“It’s exciting that record numbers of people will be taking off from here this Easter: 320,000 people will travel [through the airport] over the bank holiday weekend – that’s up 7 per cent on April 2023,” Manchester Airport’s managing director Chris Woodroofe said.

Glasgow predicts more than 90,000 passengers over the four days, while Birmingham Airport said it expects a 27.2 per cent increase in departures on last year over the full Easter period.

Bristol, which predicts 30,000 holiday trips on Easter Sunday alone, advised: “If travelling with Easter eggs, passengers are advised to keep any chocolate treats in your cabin baggage and to make sure they’re easily accessible as they may need to be opened for a quick check.”

Liverpool Airport expects around 60,000 passengers over the four days, which is around 7 per cent higher than last year.

Heathrow through the years – in pictures

Heathrow Airport in London, the UK’s busiest, has been a travel hub for decades. Here ‘The National’ takes a look back at Heathrow through the years. All photos: Getty Images

An Airco De Havilland biplane of the British airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited, about to leave on the company’s inaugural flight from Hounslow Heath Aerodrome, later known as Heathrow, to Le Bourget, Paris, in August 1919.

Waterlogged runways at Heathrow Airport one week before it became Britain’s main aerial gateway to the US in 1946.

The new BOAC maintenance headquarters at London Airport – Heathrow’s original name – circa 1955.

The air traffic control room at Heathrow Airport central’s new terminal in 1955.

American actress Marilyn Monroe with her husband, playwright Arthur Miller, after arriving at Heathrow in July 1956.

An aerial view of Heathrow showing the runways in 1958.

The arrivals and departures board at Heathrow in 1960.

A new gift shop at Heathrow Airport, selling items by Chanel, Wedgwood and Pringle of Scotland, in 1961.

The Queen’s Building and the No. 1 Building Europa at Heathrow in 1965.

The Beatles leave Heathrow for Salzburg in Austria, to resume filming of the movie ‘Help!’, in 1965.

Passenger terminal gates at Heathrow in 1966.

Keith Granville, managing director of BOAC, holding up a model of the Boeing 747 jet, with the new aircraft hangars under construction in the background, at Heathrow in 1969.

An aerial view of Heathrow in 1970.

Passengers boarding the first BOAC Jumbo Jet 747 used for a commercial flight, from London Heathrow to New York, in 1971.

Passengers going through the departure lounge at Heathrow in 1973.

The Concorde check-in area at Heathrow in 1976.

Concorde takes off from Heathrow on her first commercial flight for British Airways in 1976.

Men at work finalising the Heathrow Central underground station before its opening in 1977.

Queen Elizabeth II passing though the Tube gates at Heathrow Central station on its opening in 1977.

An aerial view of Heathrow in 1978.

Holiday-makers waiting in the departure lounge at Terminal 3 of Heathrow in 1981.

British Airways employees protesting at Heathrow in 1984.

Passengers and staff observe a silence in Heathrow’s Terminal One to mark the beginning of the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.

Rower Steve Redgrave at Heathrow with daughters Sophie and Natalie and son Zak after returning from the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games with his gold medal.

Spectators watch the last Concorde land at Heathrow in 2003.

Fans surround the coach carrying the England rugby team at Heathrow, as they arrived from Sydney after winning the World Cup in 2003.

Heathrow’s Terminal 2 in 2004.

Passengers queue to check-in at Terminal 1 of Heathrow Airport in 2006 during the Christmas and New Year period.

Passengers wait for their flights at Terminal One on August 10, 2006. London Airports have been thrown into chaos as airport security was raised to critical after a terrorist plot to blow up planes in mid-flight from the UK to the US was disrupted by police.

Planes queueing to take off at Heathrow in 2007.

The new Terminal 5 at Heathrow in 2008.

Aircraft at Heathrow Airport in front of the London skyline in 2016.

Members of Team GB arrive from Rio de Janeiro at Heathrow, after returning from the 2016 Olympic Games, which saw Great Britain’s strongest Olympic performance in over a century.

This composite photo shows planes taking off from Heathrow in November 2016. Forty-two planes were captured in a the period between 10.17am and 11.17am and a montage was created from those single images.

Items are arranged during a preview of an auction at Heathrow in 2018. The contents of Terminal 1, which closed in 2015, were to be sold.

An airline passenger wearing a face mask pushes her bags through Heathrow’s Terminal 5 during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

British Airways employees welcome Olympians returning from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

It comes as drivers are warned over long delays on roads with more than 14 million Easter getaway trips are expected to take place.

From 4pm on Thursday, the RAC expects the M25 to be the busiest route in both directions between the M23 for Gatwick and the M1 in Hertfordshire, with journeys taking more than two hours, more than double the usual time.

The RAC and the transport analysis company Inrix commissioned a survey which suggested 2.6 million leisure journeys by car will be made on Good Friday.

The lengthiest delays are expected to be between 11am and 3pm, meaning drivers are advised to set off as early as possible in the morning or wait until later in the afternoon.

Two popular routes for holidaymakers – the M5 southbound between Bristol and Taunton, and the M3 between the M25 and the south coast – are likely to be congested.

Some 2.3 million getaway trips are planned for each of Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday, with two million expected to take place on each of Thursday and Easter Monday.

A further 3.3 million leisure journeys have been planned by drivers who are undecided exactly what day they will travel, leading to a total of around 14.5 million getaway trips between Thursday and Easter Monday.

Gatwick Airport through the years – in pictures

The construction site of the main terminal building at Gatwick Airport in 1935. All photos: Getty Images

Workmen completing the main building at Gatwick in 1936

Tinsley Green Station being renamed in 1936, a week before the opening of the new airport

Passengers check-in at the newly opened Gatwick Airport in 1936

A British Airways passenger aircraft at Gatwick Airport in 1936

An aerial view of Gatwick Airport in 1938

Flyovers leading to and from the main Brighton Road at Gatwick Airport in 1958

American Vice President Richard Nixon greets the crowds on arrival at Gatwick Airport in 1958

A group of young women wait to use a photo booth machine to obtain passport style photos at Gatwick Airport in 1963

British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan, right, welcomes US President John F Kennedy at Gatwick Airport in 1963

Passengers queue at the check-in counters in 1966

Paul McCartney with his wife Linda and their two children, Mary and Heather, at Gatwick Airport in 1971

Hideaway, Graham Fletcher’s mount for the Prix des Nations jumping competition at the Montreal Olympics, is coaxed on to a plane at Gatwick in 1976

Pope John Paul II kisses the tarmac on his arrival at Gatwick Airport in 1982

Terry Waite at Gatwick Airport with released hostage Robin Plummer and his family in 1985. Plummer’s release from Libya was negotiated by Waite

Richard Branson in the cabin of a Virgin hot air balloon at Gatwick Airport before it was taken to its starting point in Sussex for its record Atlantic crossing in 1987

Team GB at Gatwick Airport after arriving home from the 2004 Olympics in Greece

Aircraft at the Southern Terminal of Gatwick Airport in 2009

An empty departures lounge at Gatwick Airport in 2010, as passengers faced a sixth day of airport closures due to volcanic ash from Iceland

A family look at the arrivals board during the 2013 Christmas period

Border Force official Claire Chapman and her sniffer dog Pip check luggage arriving at Gatwick Airport in 2014

Deserted check-in desks in the North Terminal at Gatwick Airport during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020

Passengers queue at Gatwick Airport as electronic passport gates fail across the UK in 2023

Meanwhile, around 20,000 cars are expected to travel through the Port of Dover between Thursday and Easter Monday.

Car traffic at the port faced around a 10-minute wait at French Border Control on Thursday morning.

The ferry firm Stena Line said bookings on Irish Sea routes are up 115 per cent on an average weekend at this time of year and have increased by 26 per cent on Easter weekend 2023.

Wightlink said there is still availability for last-minute bookings on ferries to and from the Isle of Wight.

Brittany Ferries said sailings to France and Spain are “busy”, though overall volumes are in line with last year.

Elsewhere, Network Rail is urging train passengers to check their journey details before they travel because some major routes will be closed due to engineering work.

The West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Milton Keynes will be shut for four days from Good Friday.

There will also be disruption in the areas around Glasgow and Huddersfield.

The tourist board VisitEngland said around 11 million people in the UK are planning an overnight Easter trip, generating an estimated £3.2 billion [$4bn] boost to the economy.