MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Four million Britons heading overseas for Christmas break; 13 million will take to the roads

Canary Islands and North Africa are the favorite destinations for sun lovers

Around four million Britons will be heading overseas for the Christmas break, with those staying behind having to contend with packed roads and disrupted rail services.

 The peak days for those flying off to foreign climes are expected to be Friday, Saturday and Sunday coming up (Dec 20-22), said travel organization Abta.

It added that the most -popular destinations for sun lovers were the Canary Islands, Tunisia, Morocco and the Cape Verde Islands off western Africa. For those flying long haul, Dubai, Mexico, Cuba and Kenya are favorite spots, while for skiers Switzerland, France, Austria and Italy are the top spots.

Popular for New Year’s Eve breaks are Paris, Edinburgh, Amsterdam, Rome, and Dublin, Abta said.

For those holidaying in the UK, London and York are popular along with the seaside resorts of Llandudno in Wales, Torquay and Eastbourne.

Abta said around 360,000 travelers would be flying off from Stansted airport over the Christmas period, with around the same number leaving from Manchester, 175,000 from Luton and 100,000 from Glasgow and Edinburgh airports.

Ryanair is carrying a record three million passengers from December 20 to January 6, while Gatwick Airport will handle an estimated two million travelers between December 13 and January 5.

Also, British Airways said just under two million people will fly with the airline between December 16 and January 5, with this Friday being the busiest day with more than 115,000 travelers flying.

In addition, Channel Tunnel high-speed rail company Eurostar said it will be carrying more than 420,000 people from December 20 to January 3 - an 11% rise on the same period 12 months ago.

In the UK, an estimated £2 billion is being spent on travel to friends and families this Christmas, and the RAC is predicting that 13 million people will take to the roads from December 24-26.

With major engineering projects taking place over the festive period, rail passengers are facing line closures, reduced services and buses replacing trains on a number of routes. Traffic information company Inrix said the busiest time on the roads was likely to be from noon to 5pm on Friday, with the M25 being the most congested spot.

Inrix warned that journey times could triple at the busiest festive time, with shopping areas being particularly busy this weekend and again on Friday December 27.

Car company Kia predicted that the average family car will be driven 413 miles over Christmas, with a survey of 2,000 motorists showing that 10% make more than 11 trips to stock up on festive food.