And we’re off… on our Bank Holiday getaway

As the last Bank Holiday of the summer, this weekend is one of the busiest getaway weekends of the year.

Beach sunsetThe Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) estimates that 1.8 million of us will be heading overseas from Friday to Monday, 26-29 August with numbers on a par with last year.

Traffic through the main airports will be very busy with 430,000 leaving from Heathrow, 250,000 from Gatwick, 125,000 from Stansted, 150,000 from Manchester, 65,000 from Birmingham, 24,000 from Leeds Bradford and 70,000 from Luton.  115,000 will leave from the main Scottish airports, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. In addition hundreds of thousands will be heading out through regional airports and over or under the channel.

Spain is the UK holidaymakers’ number one destination, in particular the Balearic Islands and on the mainland, the various Costas. Portugal and the Greek islands are doing very well this year and Turkey, Tunisia and Egypt are offering great value.

For customers looking to enjoy the long weekend on a city break, New York, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam and Rome lead the way.

Mark Tanzer, ABTA Chief Executive said: “This bank holiday weekend is the traditional curtain call for the busiest summer months and I am delighted that hundreds and thousands of our customers are heading off to enjoy a break in the sun overseas as well as the millions who will be sampling the delights of our beach resorts, countryside and historic cities here at home.”