If you are taking advantage of an extra day's holiday this weekend and heading abroad, brace yourself for a busy few days at Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

Around 70,000 travellers are expected to pass through the airport over the Bank Holiday weekend.

The airport has continued to see increased passenger numbers throughout 2016 with almost 350,000 more passengers choosing to fly from there so far this year.

This weekend is likely to be the airport’s busiest bank holiday period for five years, with around 8% more passengers expected compared to the same period last year.

The most popular destinations include the sunshine resorts on the Mediterranean, but weekend breaks are also expected to be popular with passengers travelling to various European cities, and further afield to the likes of New York on Aer Lingus’ North American flights via Dublin.

This year has seen two new operators begin services from Liverpool, with Spanish airline Vueling flying to Barcelona three times a week, and the start of the TUI weekly flight to Palma.

In total, six new services have started this year, along with increased frequencies on a number of existing services.

Robin Tudor, spokesman for Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said: “It’s been our best summer for many years in terms of passenger numbers and the August bank holiday weekend is set to be our busiest weekend of the year once again, with passengers from across the region taking advantage of the convenience of flying from Liverpool with even more great destinations now available.”