In accordance with Cirium data, the UK’s late spring Bank Holiday weekend is projected to be the busiest weekend this year. Across UK airports, 3,204 departures are scheduled for take-off on Friday, May 23, alongside 3,132 flights departing on Monday, May 26. Across the entire weekend, a total of 12,185 flights are scheduled to depart, which is a staggering 3.7% increase in departures compared to the early May Bank Holiday just a few weeks ago!
Over 2.2 million seats are flying out this late May Bank Holiday!
Which Airport will be the busiest?
Heathrow is the largest UK airport, operating with 90 airlines to over 230 destinations. In line with airport rankings by seat, Heathrow was the fourth-busiest airport globally in 2024.
Unsurprisingly, Heathrow Airport will have the largest number of flights departing this weekend, projecting a high of 2,677 departures, closely followed by Manchester, Gatwick, and Stansted Airport. Ryanair and British Airways are the UK’s most active airlines, with the latter being Heathrow’s most frequent operating airline, contributing to an astonishing daily average of 693 flights per day, for Heathrow Airport. However, Ryanair is the overall most active airline totalling an average of 921 flights per day across the UK, with British Airways following closely behind with an average of 878 flights per day.
In comparison to the same weekend in 2024 there were 11,959 departures, meaning that this year’s departures from the UK are up by 2%, but down by 6% when compared to UK departures in 2019, before COVID-19 hit the industry.
Top destinations for the late May Bank Holiday weekend
The most booked destinations will be Dublin, closely followed by Amsterdam, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, and Malaga.
Were you one of the travellers flying out this weekend? Tell us about your destination and trip in the comments section below!
