UK Bank Holiday Flight Deals 2027: Every Long Weekend, Ranked

Here are the dates for England and Wales. Christmas 2026 is Friday 25 December, with Boxing Day moved to Monday 28 December because it falls on a Saturday. Then it's New Year's Day on Friday 1 January, Good Friday 26 March and Easter Monday 29 March, the Early May bank holiday on Monday 3 May, the Spring bank holiday on Monday 31 May and the Summer bank holiday on Monday 30 August. Christmas 2027 falls on a Saturday, so the days off move to Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 December.

Scotland is a bit different. You get 4 January and the first Monday in August instead of Easter Monday and the late August holiday. Northern Ireland adds St Patrick's Day on 17 March and 12 July.

For cheap flights, three of these stand out. Early May is the best value long weekend of the year, Easter is the best for squeezing out extra days off, and Christmas is the best for winter sun, but only if you book early.

Christmas 2026 gets you ten days off for three days of leave. Book Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 December and you're off from Christmas Day to Sunday 3 January. Winter sun is the obvious move. Tenerife from Manchester on Jet2 is usually £150 to £220 one-way over Christmas week if you book now, and well over £250 by December. Lanzarote from Stansted on Ryanair is often £40 to £60 cheaper than that.

Easter 2027 gets you ten days off for four days of leave. Book Tuesday 30 March to Friday 2 April and you're off from Good Friday to Sunday 4 April. Easter is early this year, so it's city break weather in most of Europe. Porto from Stansted on Ryanair from about £45 one-way and Kraków from about £35 are the best value if you book before January. There's a full breakdown in our Easter 2027 flights guide.

New Year is a strange one. Flights out on 30 or 31 December are pricey, but flights home on 1 January are often the cheapest of the whole holiday period, because nobody wants to fly with a hangover. Use that.

Early May, Saturday 1 to Monday 3 May, is the one to book. Schools are open, so families aren't competing for seats, and southern Europe is warm without being roasting. Seville from Stansted on Ryanair is often £45 to £75 one-way that weekend, Lisbon from Gatwick on easyJet about £55 to £85, and Budapest from Luton on Wizz Air from around £35.

The Spring bank holiday on Monday 31 May is a different story. It lines up with half-term for most schools, so fares to the Med jump. If you need that week, book by February. Edinburgh travellers should look at Faro or Alicante direct from Edinburgh, which are often cheaper than going via London.

The trick for both May weekends is flying Thursday evening and returning Tuesday. You take two days off and get five nights away, and midweek flights are usually £20 to £40 cheaper each way than Friday and Monday.

The Summer bank holiday on Monday 30 August sits in the middle of school holidays, so it isn't a bargain weekend on its own. The best approach is to fold it into a summer trip. Fly back on Tuesday 31 August and you'll avoid the Monday rush. Tenerife from Manchester or Málaga from Birmingham on Jet2 are the go-to choices, and booking by January saves families the most.

The general rule is simple. Book Christmas by October, Easter by Christmas, May by February and August by January. After those points, fares on the popular routes only go one way. Set a price alert for the weekends you want, and don't wait for a sale that might not come.

Remember the add-ons too. A cabin bag on Ryanair or easyJet can cost £25 to £45 each way on a bank holiday weekend, so pack light or pick Jet2, which includes a bag with package holidays. Search your nearest airport below to see what's cheap for the next long weekend.