Data from aviation analytics firm Cirium showed that scheduled international flights for the week of 14-20 February 2022 were up by 545% on the corresponding week in 2021, when international travel was still effectively banned.
But the 7,746 departures next week still represent a 42% drop in flights compared with February half-term in 2020, just weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic struck the UK.
The most popular destination for this year’s half-term flights is Dublin, followed by Amsterdam, Geneva and Tenerife South. The total number of seats on departing flights will be just over 1.5 million during the week.
Data for April is also encouraging for the industry, with international flights in April up by 845% on April 2021, and only down by 16% compared with the same month in 2019.
