London Stansted is expected to have its busiest weekend of the year so far as thousands of Brits head to Europe to enjoy the half-term break.

Winter sun-seekers and skiers are among the 90,000 passengers who will be departing from the airport between February 11–13.

The numbers are in stark contrast to the 2,000 passengers who flew out of the airport during the same weekend last year.

Friday, February 11th, is set to be the busiest day when 31,000 passengers are expected to fly out, the day UK Covid-19 travel testing restrictions are eased.

Over the full ten-day half-term period from Friday to Sunday, February 20th, London Stansted will welcome more than 500,000 passengers (275,000 departing, 220,000 arriving).

Winter sun destinations in Spain and ski resorts in France and Italy are the most popular destinations.

Nick Millar, operations director at London Stansted, said: “As schools break up for half-term and Covid-19 travel restrictions ease further on Friday, this will be the busiest weekend so far this year.

“We are really looking forward to welcoming thousands of passengers through our doors, especially those looking forward to a long-awaited and well-deserved holiday abroad.

“We expect the airport to be very busy over half-term and we will be doing all we can to make sure everyone has a great start to their holiday.”

As London Stansted continues to recover from the pandemic, a major recruitment drive has been launched in advance of what is predicted to be a busy summer season.