Get ready: flights bookable soon for the 4-day 2022 Jubilee Bank Holiday

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To celebrate Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022, the Government has undertaken a big shake-up of the late May Bank Holiday.

Whilst this is still 55 weeks away, it is worth mentioning now because Avios seats for this period will be bookable next month.

If you want a 4-day short break without having to take any time off work, you should start planning now and be ready to book Avios flights as soon as they are available, 355 days in advance.

What is happening for the June 2022 Jubilee Bank Holiday?

The Government is planning a 4-day “blockbuster weekend of celebrations” to celebrate The Queen’s 70 year reign.

If you’d rather poke yourself in the eye with a sharp stick, or simply don’t trust any event organised by the Govenment to be worth attending, it is a great opportunity for a short break abroad.

This is what is happening:

the second May Bank Holiday will be moved from a Monday to Thursday 2nd June

an additional Bank Holiday will be created on Friday 3rd June

This allows you to book a holiday from 2nd to 5th June without requiring any time off work, assuming you have a traditional Monday to Friday work pattern.

I want to flag one potential issue. Sunday 5th June, as well as being the last day of the Jubilee weekend, is also the last day of half term for many families. You will be competing with them for return flights. It may make more sense to take one day off work, have a five day holiday and return on Monday 6th June.

When to book

With Avios tickets bookable 355 days in advance, seats should open up on 12th June. It gives you just under a month to make plans.

I suspect that it will be an exceptionally heavy weekend for leisure travel so I would look to book sooner rather than later, remembering that Avios tickets can always be cancelled for a £35 per person fee.

Think twice before booking any non-refundable hotel rooms, however. There is a 23.37% chance that Her Majesty will not celebrate her Platinum Jubilee. In such a case, the extra Bank Holiday could be cancelled with the standard one moved back to its usual spot of Monday 30th May.

Category

General

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

Andrew says:

18 May18 May 10:09

I’ll play it differently.

I’m going to head off on Saturday 21st May for a week. Back to work on Monday 30th May – which will be an incredibly quiet few days as all the parents will be off. There’ll be no traffic going to and from work either.

Then have a lazy long weekend, without the stress of desperately trying to do “something”.
- Andrew says:
  
  18 May18 May 11:15
  
  The two Andrews agree! This is my plan too. Plus I’m a bit of a royalist so will want to watch whatever’s on TV to mark the occasion.
Michael C says:

18 May18 May 11:24

We always find a decent Euro hop by travelling on the weird days – Sun-Weds, etc.!
cinereus says:

18 May18 May 12:59

What if she pops her clogs before?
- Andrew says:
  
  18 May18 May 13:39
  
  Long live the King!
  
  A convenient date set for the Coronation.
Jimmy says:

18 May18 May 14:13

No way would they move the bank hol if she dies. They announced this two years in advance for a reason – it takes businesses a ton of planning. They’d just rebrand as a weekend of remembrance or something
- Rob says:
  
  18 May18 May 15:21
  
  Not true. Theresa May moved the VE Day Bank Holiday with under 12 months notice, causing huge issues for people who had booked weddings etc. https://hfp2022.headforpoints.blog/2019/06/09/may-bank-holiday-in-2020-has-been-moved/
  - Andrew says:
    
    18 May18 May 15:42
    
    David Cameron announced an extra Bank Holiday for the William & Kate wedding with just over 6 months notice.
    
    (Causing outrage at the firm I was temping at.)
    - Anna says:
      
      18 May18 May 15:53
      
      I think it’s more of an issue if they’re moving the date rather than just adding one. This happened last year with the VE day celebrations, although in the event no-one could really go anywhere as we ended up being in the first lockdown.
      - Chris K says:
        
        18 May18 May 19:16
        
        I remember seeing a couple on TV in 2019 who were understandably upset that their 2020 wedding weekend was messed up by the BH date change. Guests couldn’t come any more etc.
        
        But yes, as it turned out, black swan events do happen and I imagine that turned out to be the least of their worries.
        
        Anyway. Vivat Regina Elizabetha.
- Degsy says:
  
  18 May18 May 22:47
  
  Given what businesses have had to endure this last 15 months with Covid, I suspect most would now be able to cope with a bank holiday change.
david gibson says:

19 May19 May 08:36

GSTQ.