We’ve been busy revamping our Airlines pages to give you information about your favourite airline all in one place. You can view status updates, flight tracking, frequency of popular flight routes throughout the week, and more.
While making this update, we took the opportunity to find out when the skies are the busiest, so Brits with a flexible flying schedule can plan their trips abroad to avoid airport queues, and perhaps even bag a spare seat next to them.
Best month to fly
It comes as no surprise that Brits flock to sunnier climes from June to August, so beat the crowds by flying in April, December or February.
Ranking (busiest to quietest) | Month |
1 | August |
2 | July |
3 | June |
4 | September |
5 | October |
6 | January |
7 | March |
8 | May |
9 | November |
10 | December |
11 | February |
12 | April |
Best time of month to fly
Even if you are restricted to travelling in summer (along with everyone else), it doesn’t have to be chaotic. We’ve found that the second week of the month is the best time to enjoy crowd-free travel from British airports.
Ranking (busiest to quietest) | Week of month |
1 | Third |
2 | Fourth |
3 | First |
4 | Second |
Best time of week to fly
Whittle it down even further to avoid the weekend rush between Friday and Monday, and opt for the quietest travel days of Tuesday and Wednesday.
Ranking (busiest to quietest) | Weekday |
1 | Sunday |
2 | Saturday |
3 | Monday |
4 | Friday |
5 | Thursday |
6 | Tuesday |
7 | Wednesday |
Best time to fly in the rest of Europe
Brits aren’t the only ones jetting off between June and August, with the continental skies just as busy during this period. In most countries April is also the quietest month for travel, except for Spain, where skies are quietest in May. Mid-week tends to be the quietest time to fly in or out of Europe.
Image ©iStock.com/Danil Melekhin