Half-Term, Diwali and Thanksgiving: The Travel Peaks Ahead and What They Mean for Delays

The next few weeks bring several travel peaks stacked close together. Scotland's October half-term is already underway, England and Wales follow from late October, Diwali brings one of the biggest surges in Indian domestic travel in early November, and the United States heads into its busiest flying week of the year around Thanksgiving. Add in the season's first winter storms and some ongoing UK air traffic control problems, and it's a period worth planning for rather than hoping for the best.

UK school holidays and ATC strain

Scotland's autumn half-term runs from 12 to 19 October, while England and Wales break up around 26 October. That means two separate waves of UK leisure travel this month, each putting pressure on airports already dealing with other problems. UK airports have seen repeated air traffic control and technical outages through September and October, including a NATS network issue and a separate fault at the Prestwick centre that spread delays to airports including Manchester. These issues tend to ripple through the day once they start, because aircraft and crews get out of position.

There is a longer-term fix in progress. The UK Civil Aviation Authority's updated Airspace Change Process took effect on 1 October 2026, with a further update due later in the month. This is aimed at reducing delays over time by making it easier to redesign flight paths, but it won't change anything for half-term travellers this autumn.

Winter storms are already arriving

Early October has already shown what winter weather can do to a busy network. One Thursday saw over 2,500 delays and nearly 200 cancellations across 20 European airports, with Heathrow and Amsterdam among the worst affected, as a storm system brought flooding to Spain and Greece while adding capacity pressure in London, Amsterdam, Paris and Madrid. Tropical and thunderstorm risk also persists on the US Gulf Coast into mid-October, with routes through Florida airports occasionally affected by hurricane activity.

This pattern is likely to repeat over the coming weeks. When a storm is forecast, airlines often issue travel waivers that let passengers change their dates without a fee, even on tickets that would normally be non-refundable, though you may still have to pay a fare difference. It's worth checking for a waiver as soon as a storm warning is issued for your route, rather than waiting until the day of travel.

Diwali and the run-up to US Thanksgiving

Diwali falls on Sunday 8 November 2026 and triggers one of the biggest surges in India's domestic travel calendar. Airports typically see passenger volumes rise by 30 to 50 percent around the festival, with longer check-in queues and busier arrival halls. Delhi's T3 and Mumbai's T2 terminals, which normally handle well over 150,000 passengers a day each, can push past 200,000 on peak Diwali days. Capacity has also been tightened on some routes this year, with domestic seat numbers down and fares rising sharply, so travellers heading to or from India around early November should expect a tighter, pricier market than usual.

In the United States, the Thanksgiving period remains the busiest stretch of the year for air travel. The 2026 peak window runs from Tuesday 24 to Monday 30 November, with historical patterns pointing to the Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the Sunday after, as the three busiest days. The Sunday after Thanksgiving has previously set all-time screening records in the US, so anyone flying that weekend should allow extra time at the airport.

Practical tips for travelling through these peaks

• Book flights and accommodation early where you can, since fares tend to rise as peak dates approach.
• Where your schedule allows, fly mid-week rather than on the busiest weekend days.
• Choose early morning or late evening flights where possible, as they are often less affected by knock-on delays building through the day.
• Keep travel insurance details and your airline's contact information to hand in case of disruption.
• Check conditions on the day rather than assuming the schedule will hold, especially during storm warnings or known ATC problems.

Whatever the cause, the basic approach to a possible delay stays the same: check your flight's actual status rather than relying on the schedule, know who is flying the specific aircraft due to operate your route, and have a plan for what to do if things change. Our guide on will my flight be delayed explains how to read the signs before you travel, and if you're meeting someone off a flight during one of these peak periods, picking someone up at the airport covers how to time your journey around possible delays. If disruption does hit, flight delayed? What to do next sets out the practical steps, while your rights depend on the route, the airline and the cause, so always check the official guidance for your specific booking.