Today was expected to be one of the busiest of the year at Leeds-Bradford Airport as thousands of people fly out of the county in the great Christmas getaway.

Bosses at the Yeadon airport anticipate that more than 40,000 people will leave West Yorkshire for sun, winter sports and trips to see family and friends between now and the New Year.

The most popular destinations include Tenerife, Dublin and Poland.

Today and next Thursday are considered among the busiest days of the year for airports up and down the country.

As the weather threatens to take another turn for the worse during the next few days, Leeds-Bradford Airport commercial director Tony Hallwood said he was happy his airport could be the ‘gateway’ to festive fun.

“As Yorkshire’s gateway airport we look forward to offering a relaxing start to the festive break for our passengers and for the increasing number of overseas visitors flying to our region.”

One of those people leaving from the Yeadon airport for sunnier climes yesterday was Sylvia Maudsley, of Cragg Vale, near Hebden Bridge.

She was heading for Malaga with her husband to visit children and grandchildren for Christmas and the New Year.

“We’re going to spend time with the family,” she said.

“We take it in turns to have Christmas here and then over there. We love it over there and go several times a year.”

Travel association ABTA estimated that nearly four million would be heading overseas over the Christmas and New Year period from today until January 2.

Early snow in Europe has meant that the ski season opened early.

For many, however, sun is the priority, and they will be heading to destinations such as Spain, Dubai, Turkey and Florida.

More than 1.5 million people are expected to leave the UK through Heathrow, the busiest airport, while more than 200,000 people will travel over or under the English Channel, with a further 225,000 travelling away by Eurostar.

Travel within the UK is expecting to pick up from today with the AA predicting about 18 million cars will be on the road, with next Thursday likely to be the busiest.

The association is warning drivers to be prepared for long journeys in bad weather, and has highlighted the M62 through West Yorkshire to and from Manchester as a traffic blackspot.