Stansted airport is set to have its busiest Christmas for three years as more than 1.2 million people prepare to travel through the airport over the festive period.

Winter sun-seekers and skiers are among the 650,000 passengers who will be jetting out from Stansted between December 16 and January 3, while 550,000 will be arriving at the airport during the same period.

As a comparison, 300,000 passengers flew out during the same time last year while COVID restrictions were still in place.

December 23 was set to be the festive season’s busiest day with 78,000 passengers flying in and out, while 4,000 are estimated on Christmas Day.

Spain's winter sun hotspots, Malaga, Alicante, and the Canary Islands are popular destinations this Christmas, along with flights to southern Turkey and Portugal, and Dubai with Emirates.

Early season skiers are heading to the slopes in France, Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and Scandinavia while New Year's Eve breaks to Edinburgh, Vienna, Amsterdam, Dublin and Barcelona are also popular.

Ahead of the getaway, and with more rail strikes pending may impact travel arrangements, the airport is encouraging passengers to take some simple steps to help their journey through the terminal go as smoothly as possible.

Anita Harrison, Stansted’s customer operations director, said: “Stansted has been one of the fastest recovering airports in the UK and we’re expecting this Christmas to be the busiest for three years.

“We’ve more than 1.2 million passengers passing through during the holiday period, so our staff will be working around the clock over to provide the best possible service to all our passengers.

“We recommend customers prepare for security checks before they leave home to avoid any unnecessary delays and allow plenty of time for their journey to the airport to make sure their holidays get off to a stress free and enjoyable start.

Detailed information about what passengers can carry as hand baggage through security is available on the airport’s website.