UK Air Traffic Control (ATC) is anticipating its busiest days of the year due to the mass exodus of athletes and visitors following last weekend’s Olympics closing ceremony. UK travel agents are also reporting a big surge in holiday enquiries and bookings as the public looks to beat the post-Games blues.
In a press release, ATC said there is a significant level of demand on flights this week. It advises that arrivals for the Games were spread across several days and weeks, while departures are likely to be concentrated into a few days.
Heathrow, London’s biggest airport, reported that around 116,000 people were expected to fly from the airport yesterday- compared to around 95,000 departing passengers on an average day.
An increase in private jet traffic is also expected at London’s smaller airports including Farnborough and Biggin Hill.
However, for those not flying home or jetting away on holiday, there’s still the London Paralympics to look forward to. With just over two weeks to go the big ticket rush has already started – with reports in the press that 2.1 million out of 2.5 million have already been sold.