How to avoid Christmas airport chaos (and why you shouldn’t arrive too early)

Travel over the Christmas and New Year period is typically very busy – more than 6.1 million plane seats are scheduled to leave the UK between Friday and January 2, according to aviation analyst Cirium. With winter weather thrown into the mix, travel can also be problematic.

The busiest travel day is expected to be Friday 20 December for many modes of transport – and travelers are encouraged to prepare their journey in advance.

On Wednesday, disgruntled passengers took to social media to complain about long queues and security delays at Gatwick Airport’s North Terminal. They claimed staff were unable to provide information on how long the detentions would continue, while others said they were told the delays were caused by an increase in the number of people.

In response, a spokesperson for the airport states The I paper: “We have seen some periodic queues for airport security in the north terminal. The queues are moving and we are not aware of anyone missing a plane.”

The airport advises passengers to arrive “as usual” – three hours before departure for a long-haul flight and two hours before a short-haul journey to “help things run efficiently”. Airport infrastructure is built according to capacity – if too many passengers arrive too early, queues can quickly increase at peak times.

Meanwhile, Heathrow Airport is expecting its busiest December ever, with the number of passengers traveling through the hub on Christmas Day 21 per cent higher than in 2023. Last month, more than 6.5m traveled. passengers through the London hub, with Friday 20 December is expected to be the busiest day of the month.

Cirium predicts that Friday 20 December will also be the busiest days for Luton and Newcastle airports, while at Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Birmingham and Bristol, Sunday 22 December will be the busiest. For Edinburgh Airport, the busiest day will be Friday 27 December.

Across the country, airports are expecting high passenger numbers from Friday 20. December to January 2, when half a million will depart from Stansted and Manchester, 400,000 from Luton, 200,000 from Birmingham and 175,000 from Bristol, according to Abta, the Travel Association.

By train, hundreds of thousands of passengers are expected to travel on Eurostar to the continent over the Christmas period. A spokesman for the cross-channel operator said, “our timetable will run as normal. The only exception is Christmas Day when our trains will not run (as usual)”. It will resume regular services from London St Pancras to Paris and Brussels on Boxing Day .

On December 21 last year, around 25,000 Eurostar passengers saw their trains canceled after the England-France tunnel was closed due to a walk-out by French staff. However, no combat actions are planned this year.

With peak travel days just around the corner, here’s what you need to know ahead of time to prepare for a stress-free departure.

Trains – check before you travel

On Christmas Eve, trains will stop running earlier than usual, with the last from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh at 5.30pm and London Euston to Manchester Piccadilly at 17.55. Check the National Rail website for the latest departure times. Services will only resume on Boxing Day, when many timetables will be greatly reduced.

On 26 December trains between London Victoria, Gatwick and Brighton will run a reduced hourly service and there will be no Heathrow Express between Christmas Day and Sunday 29 December.

From December 27, there will be disruption and planned engineering works across the country’s rail network, including Thameslink, South Western Railway and several operators traveling through Crewe. Avanti West Coast will be affected by RMT industrial action on 31 December and 2 January, with engineering work taking place on 1 January. Check here for updates.

How to deal with delays and cancellations at Christmas

While National Rail offers the Delay Repay service, which sees passengers delayed by 15 minutes or more receive automatic compensation, flight cancellations and delays can be more complicated.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is urging travelers to be aware of their consumer rights in the event of festive disruption.

Airlines have a legal obligation to look after delayed passengers, which means they must provide food, drinks and accommodation if necessary, depending on the length of the delay. For more information, see caa.co.uk/passengers-and-public/before-you-fly/know-before-you-go.

If staff cannot help, passengers should keep receipts for any reasonable out-of-pocket expenses and submit a claim to their airline.

“While the industry is dedicated to ensuring smooth journeys, we strongly encourage passengers to familiarize themselves with their rights before going to the airport so they feel safe and well prepared to deal with any unexpected challenges,” says Selina Chadha , CAA director of the airport. consumer and market group.

Kelly Cookes, Commercial Director of The Advantage Travel Partnershipalso urges passengers to plan ahead at this busy time of year: “With airports getting busier, book taxi transfers in advance as availability will drop closer to travel time.

“Simple things like checking the weather before departure are essential as adverse conditions can significantly affect traffic and journey times, so they can help you make alternative arrangements where necessary.”

“If you rely on public transport, you need to be flexible and have a backup plan in case of delays,” she added.

Cookes also advises limiting luggage to hand luggage if possible and using mobile boarding passes, which can help save time by skipping airport check-in counters.

She also suggests that you consider “pre-booking fast-track services and airport lounges for a more relaxed experience before departure,” as well as wrapping Christmas presents when you arrive at your destination, “as security may ask you to unwrap them ” at the airport.

Christina Brazier, head of industrial affairs for Specialist travel associationadds: “Check that you have all essential travel documents, including a valid passport, boarding passes/tickets, travel insurance and any visas if required,” adding that carry-on restrictions should also be checked in advance to avoid security delays.

She also suggests allowing extra time for the journey to the airport, as well as factoring in the time it will take to get through check-in and security. Real-time information about security times is available on some airport websites.

Know your flight cancellation and compensation rights

If your flight is delayed by more than five hours, you are within your rights to cancel and request a refund or rerouting.

If your flight is fully cancelled, the airline must give you a refund within seven days or offer you an alternative service on the same route, which can be done with a rival airline. Alternatively, you can book a replacement flight and claim the cost back from the airline.

Passengers both traveling on flights with UK or EU-based airlines, or arriving or departing from the UK or within the EU, can claim compensation for delays of more than three hours, based on the time of arrival – but there’s a slight catch here.

If the delay is due to an “extraordinary circumstance” – such as adverse weather conditions or Border Force industrial action – it may be more difficult to get paid, so check the circumstances before making a claim.

Don’t arrive at the airport too late – or too early

If you are a frequent traveler, you may be tempted to spend as little time at the airport as possible. However, at busy times it’s worth allowing enough time to get through security and get to your gate – sometimes it can be up to a 10-minute walk from the main departure area.

Some UK airport websites show an estimated security wait time and others on their social media feeds too.

However, it doesn’t pay to arrive hours early at the airport to ensure you get through security in good time, as it can create a log jam.

Stay updated

Many airlines keep passengers informed of disruptions via SMS, email or their app. Enabling app notifications can help keep you informed of last-minute changes.

Flight tracking websites and apps such as FlightAware, Flightradar24, Radarbox.com and Planefinder.net can also help check the status of your flight.

Flightradar24 suggests checking for potential disruptions a few days before departure, using the flight number and looking at past flight history to see if a flight is consistently delayed or generally arrives on time.

Although Christmas can be a stressful time for travel, Kelly Cookes believes it can be one of the most rewarding: “Our top tip is, if you can, travel on Christmas Day or New Year’s Eve as it’s often much quieter and sometimes cheaper.”