Major airports set for passenger surge over festive season

MORE than 400,000 passengers are expected to fly from Scotland’s main airports ahead of Christmas.

Travel association Abta said tomorrow is expected to be the busiest day.

Popular short haul destinations for winter sun include Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, while flights to Cape Verde, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic and Goa have seen strong demand by people taking long-haul sunshine breaks.

Dublin, Barcelona, New York and Amsterdam are among the most common locations for Hogmanay trips.

Airline passengers are advised to leave plenty of time to catch their flights, with 4.5 million people heading abroad from the UK between December 18 and January 2.

Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “Christmas and New Year are always a very busy time for the travel industry, with millions of people heading off overseas either to visit friends and family or take a well-earned holiday.

“At certain times, the roads and public transport will be very busy, so we are advising travellers to check in advance and leave extra time to get to the airport if necessary.”