When will your airport be busiest this summer?

Exclusive: Gatwick predicts the first two weekends of August are looking busiest, but with just one-fifth of usual passenger numbers

Welcome home: Heathrow Terminal 5 (Simon Calder)

Normally the final weekend of July is the busiest time of the year for many of the UK’s airports.

The coronavirus pandemic has meant that there will be far fewer passengers than normal. But for people who prefer not to encounter crowds, The Independent has assessed the likely busiest days at 10 of the UK’s leading airports – both from the airports’ open predictions and by analysing trends from previous summers.

The coronavirus pandemic and attendant government restrictions mean all airports are likely to be far quieter than in 2019.

Heathrow

Previously the busiest days at the UK’s biggest airport were Fridays, but the slump in business traffic means that leisure passengers are increasingly significant.

The weekend of 14-15 August is likely to see the biggest crowds, though if travel restrictions are eased there may be a later peak over the bank holiday weekend (28-30 August).

Gatwick

The current best estimates are that the first two weekends of August will be the busiest, with 30,000-35,000 passengers per day expected – around one-fifth of normal levels.

Manchester

The busiest day in the airport’s history was Friday 23 August 2019. The Independent predicts that the weekend of 21 and 22 August 2021 is likely to be busiest – depending on changes to the government’s traffic light rules.

Stansted

The Essex airport was at its busiest on 16 August 2019, and the weekend of 14 and 15 August will probably see the most passengers in 2021.

Luton

Sunday 25 July is likely to be the busiest day of the summer so far, with approximately 20,000 passengers expected.

During August, passenger numbers are expected to be around 25-30 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

Birmingham

The Midlands hub is predicting passenger throughput to increase substantially towards the end of August, with a peak on the bank holiday Monday, 30 August. The airport estimates that Sunday 5 September will be even busier.

Bristol

Fridays and Sundays during August and into early September are expected to be the busiest days.

Newcastle

The Independent predicts that the bank holiday weekend, 28-30 August, will be busiest.

Belfast International

In previous years the first weekend of September has seen a peak in travellers, though this usually includes lots of business passengers as well as holidaymakers.

East Midlands

Friday 23 July could prove to be the busiest day for departures in the summer, with the highest number of arrivals over the August bank holiday weekend or into Saturday 4/Sunday 5 September.