Christmas travel: The busiest days on trains, at airports and on the roads

Friday 22 December is set to be the busiest-ever day in the festive season at major UK airports – with the following day seeing large crowds at rail stations as travellers seek to reach their Christmas destination before engineering works begin.

Exclusive research shows London Heathrow airport will be as busy as a peak day in summer on the last Friday before Christmas, dubbed “Flyaway Friday”. The same day, 22 December, is also expected to see maximum pressure on Aberdeen, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Liverpool airports, according to figures seen by The Independent.

Travellers may experience long queues for security due to the high proportion of airline passengers who travel infrequently and are therefore unfamiliar with procedures. Airport users will also be wearing winter clothes – and many will be carrying potential items of interest in their cabin baggage.

A spokesperson for Liverpool John Lennon airport said: “We also ask that presents carried in hand luggage are not wrapped to avoid disappointment in case we need to examine them further as part of the baggage screening process. Take your wrapping paper with you and wrap them once you’ve arrived.”

East Midlands, London Stansted and Manchester airports are expected to be busiest on Saturday 23 December. This is also the date when key rail links will see peak pressure. On Christmas Eve, two of the UK’s busiest stations – Paddington and King’s Cross in London – will be closed due to engineering work, ahead of the normal 25 December nationwide shutdown.

On the railways, the most heavily booked intercity train is believed to be the 10.03am GWR from London Paddington to Penzance on Saturday 23 December.

Engineering work by Network Rail begins as early as 23 December, with TransPennine Express warning of extended journey times between Leeds and York.

National Express coaches are most heavily booked on 23 December, while rivals Flixbus and Megabus report equally heavy demand on 22 and 23 December.

The final Friday and Saturday before Christmas are also the peak days for P&O’s ferry links from Dover to Calais and Cairnryan to Larne.

Road users can expect multiple peaks, according to Rod Dennis from RAC Breakdown. He said: “We expect something of a double wave of getaway trips in the run-up to Christmas this year, reflecting the fact that schools break up on alternate weeks.

“But it’s the journeys made much closer to the big day that could lead to more of the jams. There’s a good chance drivers will cram lots of journeys into the weekend of 23 and 24 December, making these two dates to avoid being on the roads. If you can’t, allow some extra time and expect some lengthy delays.”

Christmas Day is normally a very quiet day for travel within the UK and abroad. But 25 December 2023 will see more flights to and from British airports than ever – as well as record numbers of intercity coaches within the UK.

These are the key figures and advice for travellers over Christmas.

Air

Heathrow will handle almost a quarter-of-a-million passengers on Friday 22 December. Nearly 800 flights will operate from the UK’s busiest airport on Christmas Day. The most popular routes are to New York JFK and Dubai.

Dubai is also one of the top five destinations from Birmingham airport, along with Dublin, Tenerife, Geneva and Amsterdam.

Glasgow airport will handle more than 10,000 departing passengers on three days over Christmas: 22, 28 and 29 December.

Edinburgh airport will handle more than 7,000 passengers on Christmas Day – one-sixth of the normal levels. After Friday 22 December, the busiest day at the Scottish capital’s airport will be Friday 29 December.

Liverpool John Lennon airport will handle more than 15,000 passengers on its busiest day, 22 December. On Christmas Day, 30 per cent of average daily passengers will pass through, with figures on 1 January the same as a normal Monday.

One exception to the busiest day being before Christmas is Newcastle airport, which will see the most arrivals and departures on Friday 29 December.

Rail

Avanti West Coast, which connects London Euston with the West Midlands, northwest England, North Wales and southern Scotland, says reservations are still “modest” for everything outside of the morning of the 27 December, but that 22 and 23 December are expected to be busy too.

On LNER, the main operator on the East Coast main line from London King’s Cross to Yorkshire, northeast England and Scotland, 23 December and 27 December are currently proving the most popular days to travel, with 30 December and 2 January also popular.

Between London and the West of England and South Wales, GWR reports that Saturday 23 December is “marginally busier” than Friday 22 December, with both dates busier than the preceding days. The most in-demand routes are London Paddington to Exeter, Bath, Bristol Parkway, Cardiff and Plymouth, as well as Bath to Paddington.

“Trains in the morning, between 9am and 10am, are much busier than later in the morning and the afternoon/evening,” a spokesperson said.

Full details of the Christmas engineering works have been published by The Independent.

No further rail industrial action is expected before Christmas.

Coach

On National Express and Megabus, the weekend of Friday 15-Sunday 17 December will be busy with many students travelling home from university. Saturday 23 December is the peak day before Christmas; afterwards, it’s Boxing Day, when few trains are running, and Wednesday 27 December. National Express says passenger bookings are 13 per cent up on last Christmas.

Ferry

Brittany Ferries says 22 December is the busiest day over Christmas, though some spaces are still available. A spokesperson said: “For those who are willing to leave it a little later there is still some good availability on Christmas Eve from Portsmouth to Caen at 8am, with a car and two people costing £190.

P&O Ferries reports that Hull-Rotterdam will be busiest on 14-16 and 27-29 December, with heavy inbound booking on 15-17, 21/22 and 27/28 December.

No ferries are running on Christmas Day to or from UK ports, as far as The Independent can see.

Transport for London

London Underground will be running every day except Christmas Day.

No Elizabeth Line services on Boxing between Ealing Broadway and Paddington on Sunday 24 December and Wednesday 27 December 2023, due to work on HS2.

The central London Congestion Charge will not operate from Monday 25 December to Monday 1 January.

Eurostar

No Eurostar trains will run to or from London St Pancras International on Christmas Day, but demand to and from Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam is expected to be heavy when services resume on Boxing Day. The Channel Tunnel rail firm is running 13 trains each way to and from Paris on 26 December.