Airlines are experiencing the busiest Christmas season on record.

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Airlines on both sides of the Atlantic are scrambling to celebrate the busiest Christmas season as tens of millions of passengers take to the skies.

In the UK, carriers will fly 6.1mn seats between December 20 and January 2, a 5% increase on the previous record in 2019, according to aviation data company Sirius.

The most popular international destinations for UK departures are Amsterdam, Dublin, Geneva, Paris and Tenerife.

Across the Atlantic, 54 million passengers are forecast to fly on US carriers between December 19 and January 6.

U.S. airlines are offering 140,000 more seats each day than they did during the holiday season by 2023, A4A added. Orlando, Las Vegas, Cancun, Fort Lauderdale and Honolulu are popular destinations.

The record Christmas season is the closing chapter of a busy year for airlines in the UK and US, and reflects sustained demand for travel after the pandemic ends.

Airline bosses believe consumers are prioritizing holidays even after several years of high inflation.

Still, ticket prices have dropped in 2024 in many popular markets, and some airlines, including Ryanair, Europe’s largest Fall in profit During the summer.

In the UK, commuters are choosing to travel on Christmas Day itself.

More than 800 flights are scheduled to leave UK airports on Christmas Day this year, a fifth in 2019 and 47 per cent more than a decade ago.

Low cost carrier EasyJet and London Heathrow Airport They are among the leading companies to predict the busiest winter holiday season.

Sophie Deckers, EasyJet’s chief commercial officer, said the carrier flies 4.1mn customers on its European network over the peak Christmas and New Year period, with its busiest day expected to be December 27.

Paris, Geneva and Tenerife are among EasyJet’s most popular destinations.

“The winter holidays are an important time of year for millions of people,” she said.

Executives at Heathrow Airport hope there will be no further disruption to flights after more than 100 were canceled due to high winds at the weekend.

Heathrow chief executive Thomas Woldby said: “Our focus is on ensuring smooth and enjoyable journeys – whether it’s helping passengers connect with loved ones for Christmas or ensuring cargo arrives at its destination on time.” Weekend break.

In the US, United Airlines expects passenger numbers to rise 12 percent from last year to 9.9 million, and its busiest days include Friday, Dec. 27 and Saturday, Dec. 28.

The strong finish to the year comes as the world’s airlines prepare for a record year in 2025.

In the year Passenger numbers are expected to reach 5.2 billion by 2025, up nearly 7 percent from 2024, and the first time the number of passengers has surpassed the 5 billion mark, according to an international lobby group. International Air Transport Association he said.

The figure represents less growth than the 10.7 per cent achieved this year, with Eta director-general Willie Walsh saying the figures indicate “a return to normal levels of growth after the dramatic recovery from the pandemic”.