15 December 2023 , 13:34
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Airline passengers feeling the festive spirit have been told to ignore it over baggage rules on board planes.
Party poppers are banned outright by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on UK flights. Crackers - an essential part of the Christmas day celebrations - are allowed to be carried on board but only in their original packaging. People wanting to send presents by air to loved ones and friends living miles away must state if the items contain lithium batteries as they can cause a fire if faulty. It comes as airports prepare for a surge in departures and arrivals in the coming days.
Party poppers are not allowed onboard aircrafts (Getty Images)CAA interim group director of safety and airspace regulation Tendai Mutambirwa said: "Christmas is one of the busiest times for international air travel with people flying across the world to see friends and family.
"Almost all of them will be carrying their own devices or presents that contain lithium batteries. Our advice to passengers will help them understand the rules for carrying devices and batteries so everyone can power up the holiday spirit responsibly."
Advantage Travel Partnership, a network of independent travel agents, said its members are seeing bookings for departures between December 18 and 28 up 44% compared with the same period last year. Heathrow alone expects about 6.5 million passengers to travel through the airport this month. The number would be a 10% increase on the figure of 5.9 million in December 2022 and behind only 2019 (6.7 million) for Heathrow's most passengers in the final month of a year.
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Heathrow CEO Thomas Woldbye said: “For so many, holidays and cultural festivities are all about spending quality time with friends and family. Last month saw passengers travelling to celebrate Thanksgiving and Diwali with their loved ones and we are making final preparations for the Christmas getaway.
“We need to protect these benefits of aviation in a world without carbon, which the history making 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) transatlantic flight proved is possible. Now we need collaboration between Industry and Government who both have critical deliveries, to scale up SAF production to make 100% SAF flights an everyday reality.”
Last month Toronto, Singapore and Chicago all joined the ‘millionaire’ club in November with over a million passengers travelling on those routes so far in 2023 from the airport. Lisbon, San Francisco and Edinburgh are all in the running to achieve this same milestone. The festive season is in full swing at Heathrow, with 47 Christmas trees adorning the terminals, local choirs performing carols and a festive ballet performance welcoming arriving passengers.