Cheapflights.co.uk saw a significant jump in overall searches last Thursday, 30 June, the day of the National Strike by up to 750,000 public sector workers protesting to protect their pension rights. Strikers included school teachers who benefit from as much as 13 weeks paid leave annually.
According to searches on Cheapflights Media’s UK site it’s possible that many strikers may have used their extra time off work to check on flights to holiday destinations. Compared to searches on the previous Thursday, there was an overall jump of 16 per cent in visits to the site.
However, searches to top holiday destinations were considerably higher in comparison with the previous week. Most popular destinations such as Palma, Malaga, Faro and Dalaman saw a week on week increase of 20–30 per cent.
Commenting, a Cheapflights spokesperson said: “We have always noticed that there tends to be a spike in searches at lunchtime when many workers take advantage of internet access to look for holiday flights.
“However, this is the first National Strike we have been able to monitor and it seems to bear out the fact that whatever their circumstances Brits are always keen to look out for a good deal on a holiday fare.”
(Image: Wolfgang Staudt)
