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Fly from alternative airport near you to save hundreds on holiday costs

Paloma Kubiak
Written By:
Paloma Kubiak
Posted:
Updated:
07/08/2017

Families already paying the price for taking a holiday in the summer can save hundreds of pounds simply by flying from an alternative airport a short distance away.

Analysis of the cheapest available direct return flights for a family of four travelling out of the UK on 12th August to popular European holiday destinations, returning seven days later, reveals big price discrepancies across airports – some fairly close to each other.

The research conducted by travel money specialist, FairFX, found the cost of a flight can be hundreds of pounds more expensive depending on where in the UK families fly from.

For instance, flying from Nottingham/East Midlands Airport to Palma, Majorca, will cost £826 for the cheapest flight.

But if you’re prepared to travel 36 miles away to Birmingham, you will only be set back £322 – well over half the price.

At Exeter Airport, a family of four will be charged at least £1,089 to fly to Faro, Portugal. But if they are willing to head 80 miles east to Bournemouth, they will only have to pay £250, less than a quarter.

For families heading to Rhodes from Manchester, they will need to pay at least £1,082. But just over an hour’s drive to Leeds/Bradford could mean they only have to pay £666 – a difference of 62%.

Ian Strafford-Taylor, CEO of FairFX, said: “These sky-high price differences beggar belief and show how holidaymakers can unwittingly pay out extortionate sums if they happen to live near the wrong airport. Families travelling during the already expensive summer holidays will be disheartened to learn that this is yet another way in which they could wind up paying through the nose.

“Many people will not care about which airline they travel with but will merely be looking for the cheapest deal. And those looking for the best value face huge cost discrepancies across the UK.

“While it might seem extreme to travel a long distance to find the cheaper flight, it might save families a great deal of money in the long-run. And these figures show that even choosing an airport a fairly short distance away could result in big savings.”

For those sticking to the most convenient airport, Strafford-Taylor said families can save in other ways, such as buying currency in advance, topping up a prepaid card and by avoiding currency rates at airports.

See YourMoney.com’s Currency guide to get the best deal on foreign exchange and our Summer holiday money-saving checklist for more ways to save.