More than 400,000 people set to fly this weekend as ‘DINKs’ take advantage of bank holiday deals

More than 400,000 people are due to pass through Manchester Airport over the course of the bank holiday weekend.

The May Day bank holiday sits in what is known as the ‘shoulder season’ – the periods either side of the school summer holidays when traditional favourites like Mallorca and Alicante are fully open and the weather is good, but prices are lower than when children are not in school.

It means it is a popular weekend for couples with dual-incomes and no kids – so-called DINKs – to go away.

Over the course of the bank holiday weekend, more than 100,000 people are set to fly into or out of Manchester Airport every day – a total of 416,000 people taking advantage of the UK’s global gateway in the North.

Dublin, Amsterdam and Dubai are set to be the three most popular destinations, partly driven by their onward connectivity with people set to stop there and continue onwards to far-flung destinations in Asia, the Americas and Africa.

The rest of the top 10 is made up of Alicante, Antalya, Mallorca, Dalaman, Barcelona, Paris and Tenerife.

Jennifer Byrne-Smith, Customer Operations Director at Manchester Airport, said:

“Here at Manchester Airport we’re proud to connect the North to the world. Our route network of more than 200 destinations served by 50 airlines is the best of any airport outside London and means that we offer unrivalled choice, value and flexibility for passengers in the region.

“And that’s why we’re going to see so many passengers travelling through the airport this weekend. That choice means that if you’re looking to grab a bargain outside the school holidays, there’s something for all tastes available from Manchester Airport.

“We’ll see thousands of people heading to traditional favourites like Alicante and Mallorca but we’re also expecting more than 5,000 people to fly to New York, another 5,000 will go to Orlando, 2,500 will go to Beijing and 1,200 will go to Bridgetown.

“We can’t wait to welcome people this weekend and are looking forward to helping them start their holidays here at the UK’s global gateway in the North.”

Manchester Airport has set out its top tips for travellers looking to start their holidays in style this weekend:

1.      Travel light – if you’re only going away for the weekend, take advantage of being able to pack less as it will save you money and time

2.      If you have hold baggage and live locally, check to see if your airline offers a day-before bag drop service. You’ll be able to park at the airport for free and drop your hold baggage off the night before meaning when you come to the airport the following day you can go straight to security

3.      Check-in online if you can – this will save lots of time at the airport

4.      Consider booking either our TimeSlot or Fast Track services. TimeSlot is available on all flights from Terminal 3 and lets you choose a time to go to security meaning shorter queues. Fast Track is available in all terminals and allows you to use a dedicated security lane that will get you to the departure lounge faster

5.      If you want to treat yourself, consider booking to use aether – our private terminal which is available as an upgrade to passengers flying with any airline

6.      If you’re being dropped off at the airport you can use our new barrierless drop off areas – these make the experience faster and more seamless – just remember to pay for using the area online or over the phone by midnight the following day

7.      If you live locally, why not use the Bee Network to get to the airport? Manchester Airport is the only UK airport with a dedicated train, tram and bus station and it is all connected to the Bee Network so people in Greater Manchester can tap in locally and tap off at the airport