2 January 2008 is expected to be the busiest air travel day.

New statistics from the Airlines Reporting Corporation (ARC), a US company that provides services to the travel industry, have shown that the busiest air travel day after 21 December will be 2 January 2008 – with Las Vegas being the number one travel destination for American travellers.

The data revealed that air passengers avoid travelling on 24 and 25 December and that it takes until the second week of January to resume typical travel behaviour patterns.

Las Vegas climbed from third place in 2005/2006 to top the list of popular destinations, followed by Orlando, Los Angeles, Chicago and Denver.

European airlines have also reported a busy seasonal period. Ryanair, a European low-fare airline, has reported a record 20% increase over 2006/2007 passenger numbers – two million people have booked to travel with the airline over the holiday period, travelling across 26 countries on 605 routes.

The UK’s largest airline, easyJet, has welcomed one million travellers and has revealed the top five seasonal destinations to be Geneva, Amsterdam, Malaga, Barcelona and Alicante.