Around two million British holidaymakers are heading overseas this Easter bank holiday weekend, according to travel trade organisation Abta - but those staying at home can expect some good April weather.
Abta has reported strong demand for trips to mainland Spain, the Canary and Balearic Islands, the Algarve, Madeira, Cyprus, Croatia, Italy, Greece and southern Turkey. Figures from aviation analytics company Cirium show 10,218 flights are scheduled to leave UK airports between Good Friday and Easter Monday, which is up 11% compared with Easter 2022 but is 13% below the total for Easter 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year’s Easter getaway was marred by chaos at airports, with passengers facing long queues and widespread flight cancellations as the aviation sector failed to recruit and train enough staff to cope with demand. Airports are said to be running much more smoothly this year, although those travelling to the continent by ferry have been warned they could face two-hour delays at the Port of Dover.
For those staying home, temperatures “as high as 16C or 17C” are expected in parts of the UK today (Friday April 7). The Met Office said the weather is widely set to be “fine and relatively nice” over the long weekend with “some sunshine” before “rain for most places” on Bank Holiday Monday.
It said much of the UK, “especially in the west”, will be rain-free and enjoy sunny spells on Friday, despite a “frosty start in places”. The Met Office said: “Sunnier skies will see temperatures rise as high as 16C or 17C during the day.”
But the forecaster has warned that eastern coastal stretches are likely to be cloudier, with some light rain and potential fog patches from the North Sea and cooler temperatures of 10C to 11C more likely along that coast. Similar conditions are likely on Saturday, when “the vast majority” of the UK can expect “spells of sunshine” after a “frosty start”, with highs of 14C to 16C.
Easter Sunday could then be the “warmest day of the year so far”, with highs of up to 18C expected in parts of the UK. That would set a new warmest day for 2023, exceeding the current highest temperature of 17.8C on March 30 in the village of Santon Downham, Suffolk.
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David Oliver, a Met Office deputy chief forecaster, said: “During the second half of the Easter weekend the Atlantic will increasingly exert its influence. A frontal system is expected to move in from the west and displace the high pressure lying across the UK.
“This will spread rain across all areas during the latter part of Easter Sunday and through Easter Monday, although there is some uncertainty regarding its exact timing. Once the rain clears blustery showers are likely to follow in its wake across many areas.”
Monday will “be a slightly fresher day but nonetheless still relatively warm”, Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said. He told the PA news agency: “It’s going to be the North West basically late on Sunday that will see the heaviest rain.
“There will be some gales around coastal regions as well of Scotland and Northern Ireland, particularly later on Sunday, so from a travel point of view, if you are making travel plans, there may well be some temporary difficult driving conditions late on Sunday and perhaps in eastern areas on Monday as well but overall we don’t anticipate any warnings being necessary through this coming weekend.”
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