Leave your cooked bird at home, advises airport
East Midlands Airport is advising Christmas travellers not to take cooked birds on flights if jetting off for the festive season.
It has been known for passengers to check-in a cooked Turkey to ensure they can enjoy a traditional Christmas dinner upon arrival at their holiday destination. However, airport bosses advise against it especially if the turkey travels in the belly-hold of a plane which is not compatible with a pleasant culinary experience.
More than 65,000 passengers are due to travel to and from East Midlands Airport (EMA) over the Christmas and New Year period. The airport expects Friday 20 December to be one of the busiest days of the festive season. Christmas Day will be the quietest during the holiday period with only one passenger flight to Tenerife with TUI.
The Canary Islands are popular destinations for festive travellers with more than 15,000 passengers expected to soak up winter sunshine in Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote.
This Christmas, the top 10 destinations are:
- Alicante
- Tenerife
- Malaga
- Palma
- Dublin
- Lanzarote
- Faro
- Belfast
- Fuerteventura
- Las Palmas
Aside from birds, passengers flying away for Christmas are urged to think carefully about what they pack. Those wishing to take Christmas crackers with them should check with their airline before flying as policies do vary. However, the airport is advising against items such as party poppers. Gifts should also be left unwrapped if they’re taken through security in hand luggage.
Andy Tyler-Smith, EMA’s Customer Services and Security Director says: “Despite jetting off to sunnier destinations, many passengers want to retain some elements of a traditional Christmas. We do urge passengers to be sensible about what they bring; things that make loud noises such as party poppers are a no-no, and some operators don’t allow crackers on board. As always, we recommend passengers check with their airline before travelling.”