The cheapest dates for air travel around Christmas (and it might surprise you)
The best hotels in Reykjavik
The cheapest dates to book
Contrary to popular belief, Christmas Day is not a cheap day to travel, but in fact the most expensive day over the festive period. The average cost of a flight out of the UK to all destinations between the 16th and 31st of December is 12 per cent higher on the big day itself. Overall, the cheapest date is December the 30th, but if you want to make it out in time for Christmas Day, your best bet is the 23rd.
Top five busiest days for travel
The Friday before Christmas will be the busiest day at airports, according to this year's advance bookings, which falls on the 22nd of December. See below for rest of the top five busiest dates. If you're looking for the quietest day, it's the 17th.
22nd December
23rd December
21st December
20th December
16th December
The most popular destinations
Bangkok wins the popularity contest for a Christmas getaway this year, closely followed by New York and then Sydney - none of them cheap. The average cost of a flight to Bangkok is currently £836, for New York it's £516, and for Sydney £1,254. Amsterdam is leading the way for European destinations, with an average fare of £98, followed by Dublin (£96) and Athens (£303).
Most popular destinations | Bookings during the 2017 festive period
The up and comers
Accra, the capital of Ghana, has seen the biggest growth in popularity this year as a destination for Christmas - a surge in bookings of 84 per cent compared to last year. European cities, however, dominate this year's top 10, lead by Spain. Madrid saw the second largest growth at 68% year-on-year, followed by Malaga with a surge of 33 per cent.
Destination hot list | Where Christmas bookings have risen most since last year
Most popular airports
With long-haul destinations dominating the most popular routes, it would come as no surprise that Heathrow is leading the way in the popularity stakes this Christmas, with Gatwick close behind. Edinburgh leads the way for Scotland, Manchester is proving most popular for the North West, Newcastle takes the top spot in the North East and Bristol for the South West.
