UK airports brace for record-breaking Bank Holiday travel

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UK airports brace for record-breaking Bank Holiday travel

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London Gatwick Airport | Official Website

By Sky Industry News

May 24, 2025

Airports across the United Kingdom are preparing for a busy Bank Holiday weekend, with Monday, May 26th being a public holiday. This allows travelers to enjoy a short break without taking too much time off work. Friday, May 23rd is expected to be a popular departure date.

According to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics company, tomorrow will mark the busiest day of the year so far for departing flights from UK airports. Over 3,200 flights are scheduled to depart from various hubs across the country. The upcoming Monday is set to be the second busiest day of the year.

Cirium reports that 12,185 flights are scheduled over the late May Bank Holiday weekend from May 23rd to 26th. This figure represents a 3.7% increase compared to the early May Bank Holiday weekend. The start of the school half-term break is contributing to this demand.

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Tomorrow will see 3,204 services departing UK airports, making it the busiest day in terms of scheduled departures for this year. Meanwhile, Monday will see 3,132 flights leave UK airports. Overall, more than 2.2 million seats will be available over the weekend; however, this number is still 6% lower than during the same weekend in 2019.

London Gatwick Airport (LGW) holds its position as the UK's second-busiest airport with significant departures planned over this period. There was potential for disruption due to planned strikes by Red Handling baggage handlers represented by Unite union but these have been called off pending a vote on new working terms.

The refueling department at Gatwick will still experience industrial action as Redline Oil Services employees strike between Friday and Tuesday after rejecting a pay offer. Despite this, easyJet plans to operate its full schedule with managers stepping in amid criticism from Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham: "Rather than negotiate with Unite and offer our members a meaningful pay rise," she stated about Redline's tactics.

London Heathrow Airport (LHR) leads in flight numbers with 2,677 departures over this period followed by London Gatwick and Manchester Airport (MAN). British travelers seem inclined towards short-haul European destinations such as Dublin Airport (DUB), Amsterdam (AMS), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), Alicante (ALC), and Malaga (AGP).