Families abandon overseas holidays because of airport terror fears

Terror fears and airport security crackdowns have given the UK holiday industry a massive boost as many Britons cancel their plans to fly to sunshine destinations abroad.

Holidaymakers concerned about heightened airport security and delays due to the recent terrorist alerts are abandoning plans to travel overseas in favour of domestic breaks.

With schools set to break up for summer holidays a soaring number of families have decided to brave the wet weather at home and head for British beauty spots instead of flying to the Continent.

Travel firms are reporting a last-minute surge of bookings for hotels, bed and breakfast accommodation and cottages throughout the UK in the wake of the terror attacks.

Self-catering specialist Hoseasons says that it recorded a 26 per cent rise in inquiries about domestic holidays in the days after the Glasgow airport attack, compared with the same weekend last year.

Hoseasons claims that last-minute holiday-hunters are "scrabbling" for UK breaks, citing a desire to avoid the chaos at airports caused by current security measures after the suspected terrorist attack.

The company says that there was a similar surge in demand for domestic breaks last August after the chaos that followed a previous terrorist scare.

Tim Fullam, Hoseasons' marketing director, said: "The terrible events in Glasgow and the inevitable crackdown on airport security that followed, has put many people off the thought of flying to their summer holiday destination.

"In the days following the incident, we experienced a huge increase in inquiries, with many last-minute bookers telling us they have switched their holiday plans from abroad to Britain.

Scroll down for more

"It seems that people don't want to have to go through the hassle of trying to get to an airport, go through all the security checks and very possibly face even more delays."

Global Vacation Network, which includes domestic accommodation specialists such as English Country Cottages and Blakes, experienced a 20-30 per cent rise in bookings over the same period last year.

Mike Dean, head of programmes for the UK and Ireland, said: "We have seen an upswing in UK holidays from people who have held back from going abroad because of the general security situation.

"Beyond seaside resorts, the Lake District, Scotland, Wales and the Peak District are all selling well," he said.

"The UK is becoming a bit trendy again now and is easy to access by car without the worry of trying to get through airports."

British Airways and Ryanair have both reported falling passenger figures - and although it is too early to say how much the terror scare at Glasgow airport will affect summer holiday bookings, UK resorts have reported a surge in bookings in the wake of the attack.

British Airways announced that its passenger load factor was only running at 80.5 per cent in June this year while its aircraft were 81.9 per cent full in June 2006.

The British flag carrier said its problems mainly lay in economy class bookings to the US and European, while business class passengers were up by 1.4 per cent.

Budget carrier Ryanair announced that its planes were filled to 85 per cent of their capacity in June 2007, a drop of two per cent on the year before.

The airline blamed the dampening demand on the doubling of air passenger taxes.

Yet it seems that the number of passengers could still drop after delays from the UK's airports put passengers off due to extra security checks in the face of increased vigilance against terrorist action.

In addition, passengers have been warned that strikes by BA are also not out of the question as baggage handlers have been struggling to keep up.