Johannesburg - London is the most-searched-for destination in the world by South African holidaymakers, a new study has found.
The study was conducted by Cheapflights, a global travel search site that compares flights, hotels and rental cars.
It found that there was around a 145% increase in searches for South Africans looking to travel to the English city made during the past two weeks for the travel period July to September this year compared to the same period in 2019.
It also comes after news of Heathrow Airport’s announcement that it will be limiting passenger numbers through the airports until mid-September, which follows London Gatwick Airport’s introduction of a cap on the number of flights per day back in June, which is likely to impact South African travellers flying to and from London.
But while new airports’ regulations might be a blow for local travellers who had excitedly planned their vacations, searched for flights, and taken up their travel bags following the dropping of final lockdown regulations, which opened up international travel again, Laure Bornet, general manager of KAYAK EMEA, that manages Cheapflights.co.za said.
In order to compile the research, the website analysed data based on flight searches for the remainder of the summer to predict what days might be less busy than others and which dates might be better to avoid when departing from a UK airport.
Based on this analysis, Thursday, August 18, currently appears to be the least busy day for departure from a UK airport, while Monday 1st August appears to be the busiest.
Bornet explained that in addition to having the fewest number of flight searches, Cheapflights found Thursday, August 18, has about 87% fewer departure flight searches than the peak travel date August 1.
Bornet believes that being willing to hold out until September could also help avoid heavy crowds as it was found Sunday 11th, Tuesday 20th, and Sunday 28th of September are also among some of the least popular departure dates.
“International travel is now back, but airlines and airports, which drastically reduced their workforce during the pandemic, are struggling to keep up with the increase in demand,” she said.
“In addition to avoiding the peak summer travel days in July and early August, consider the time of your flight too.”
Bornet said that an early morning departure could often be the best option to avoid the sheer volume of people at the airport – and often best traffic-wise in getting there too.
“Those wishing to avoid the crowds this summer might also want to reconsider travelling to other holiday destinations.”
Here are Cheapflights’ top tips to help South Africans navigate travel disruptions and enjoy their holiday.