Heathrow is preparing for its busiest weekend this Christmas with more than 780,000 passengers expected to pass through the airport between Thursday and Sunday this week.

With millions of Brits planning on making an early start to the festive holiday period, the UK’s only hub airport is forecasting that Thursday (15 December) will be its busiest day with more than 203,300 people including families, couples and friends heading back home or jetting abroad.

To ensure a smooth Christmas getaway, additional customer service employees will be posted in check-in, while dedicated family lanes and pre-flight play areas have also been re-introduced to cater for the many families expected to fly this holiday season.

3.35 million passengers in total will pass through Heathrow during the Christmas school holidays (16 December to 3 January) bringing with them more than 6,000 tonnes of luggage each day – the equivalent to the weight of 20 jumbo jets (based on the average passenger carrying 20kg of checked in luggage and 10kg of hand luggage).

According to forecast figures, the 23rd December will see the most arrivals into Heathrow with 35,000 passengers scheduled to fly into Terminal 5 alone.

Top 5 Destinations from Heathrow this Christmas

1. New York
2. Dubai
3. Dublin
4. Amsterdam
5. Paris

Normand Boivin, Chief Operating Officer at Heathrow said: “The flight before Christmas is for many the most important flight of the year. At Heathrow we’ve pulled out all the stops to ensure our passengers have a smooth journey and very merry Christmas.”