UK airports brace for one of the busiest Christmases ever
Britain’s airports are bracing for one of the busiest festive seasons ever.
A total of 43,405 flights will depart and arrive in the UK over the next week as millions of people flee the country for Christmas.
More than 1.7million passengers are expected to pass through Gatwick Airport from Friday December 19 to Monday January 5.
The mass getaway will ramp up this weekend with 58,000 passengers departing this Friday, followed by around 60,000 passengers on Saturday and 64,000 passengers flying out on Sunday December 21 – Gatwick’s single busiest departure day over the festive period.
Meanwhile 116,700 passengers are expected to depart from Heathrow on December 19 with 698,438 passengers departing between December 19 and Christmas day.
Heathrow airport bracing for a busy one (Picture: Reuters)
But despite the impending chaos, Gatwick has promised it will get passengers through security in less than five minutes.
Wayne Tomlinson, Terminal Operations at London Gatwick said: ‘After Gatwick’s record-breaking year of passenger growth we’re getting ready to end 2014 with a busy Christmas period.
‘We’ll be helping passengers get through security in under five minutes, family assistance lanes and play areas will help our younger travellers, while new shops and restaurants will offer people even more choice.’
