Cheap Return Flights Under £50 from the UK and Ireland This Winter
Cheap return flights under £50 from 23 UK and Ireland airports this winter: 570 trips to 150 destinations, from £26, airport by airport, and two cities for under £50.
Written By Rick Blyth
Happiest at 36,000ft as the sun rises above the clouds
26 min read
•
Published on 28/10/2026
Return flights for under £50 are easier to find than you'd think. Paris and Stockholm are £26 from Dublin. From Great Britain, Cork, Limerick and Knock in Ireland are £26 from eight airports, and Milan is £29 from London Stansted.
We searched 23 airports across the UK and Ireland, and every one of them has at least one city break for £50 or less in flights this winter.
In all, 570 of the 1,091 trips we found come in at £50 or less. They go to 150 destinations in 34 countries and territories.
London Stansted has by far the most: 112 destinations for £50 or less, 100 of them in Europe beyond Britain and Ireland. Here are the cheap flights from each airport, the one with the most first.
What Counts as a Return Flight Under £50 🔎
Every price is flights only, per person, out and home. For each airport, we show the cheapest trip to each destination.
That gives 1,091 trips to 219 destinations in 43 countries and territories. Most are in Europe, and a few are just beyond, like Marrakech and Istanbul.
Each airport shows how many of its destinations cost £50 or less, out of all of its destinations, not just the cheapest few.
For example, Bilbao from Heathrow, at £50, makes the cut. Barcelona from Southampton, at £51, just misses.
A few more words we use:
🏠 Close to home means trips within the UK, Ireland and the Channel Islands. The counts include them, and we say how many each time.
✈️ In Europe means elsewhere in Europe, outside the UK and Ireland.
🗓️ Cheapest month is the month, from November to March, with the cheapest one-city trip.
✌️ Two cities means you fly on from the first city to the second, instead of home in between. You get a night or more in each, and you book each flight directly with the airline. Every two-city trip here is 4 nights or fewer. Toulouse then Rabat from Dublin, for example, is £40 for 4 nights. "Two cities: yes" below means there's one for £50 or less.
The Cheapest Airports for City Breaks in the UK and Ireland 🛫
These are ranked by how many destinations come in at £50 or less. Where airports tie, they're in A to Z order.
Here's the whole ranking at a glance, with each airport's cheapest two-city trip of 4 nights or fewer.
Airport
£50 or less
Two cities
London Stansted
112 of 141
£41
Dublin
69 of 105
£40
Manchester
63 of 107
£43
London Luton
46 of 98
£44
Birmingham
45 of 61
£44
Bristol
36 of 71
£41
Liverpool
36 of 52
£43
Edinburgh
32 of 76
£52
London Gatwick
21 of 114
£48
Newcastle
19 of 35
£43
Belfast
17 of 33
£63
Leeds Bradford
14 of 32
£53
Southend
13 of 22
£46
East Midlands
12 of 24
£54
Glasgow
12 of 29
£48
Bournemouth
9 of 13
£59
Glasgow Prestwick
4 of 8
£76
Cardiff
3 of 4
none
Aberdeen
2 of 8
£74
Southampton
2 of 7
£75
Exeter
1 of 3
£93
London Heathrow
1 of 46
£69
Norwich
1 of 2
none
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Cheap Return Flights from London Stansted Airport
112 of 141 destinations at £50 or less, 6 of them close to home.
🏠 Cheapest close to home: Cork, Limerick and Knock, all £26
✈️ In Europe: Milan £29, then 27 places at £30, among them Valencia, Munich and Dubrovnik
✌️ Two cities: yes, from £41 (Tirana then Poznań)
🗓️ Cheapest month: November and December, from £26
🏝️ Bournemouth has the cheapest Malta of all 23 airports. Malta is £30 for 2 nights from Bournemouth. It's £33 from Liverpool and £38 from Stansted.
Nine of Bournemouth's 13 destinations come in at £50 or less, and every one is abroad. That's a bigger share than Dublin, Manchester or Edinburgh.
🏰 Newcastle beats London for central Europe.Kraków at £32 and Budapest at £35 from Newcastle are the cheapest of all 23 airports. From Stansted, both are £42. Newcastle also has the cheapest Reykjavík, at £42.
🥐 Paris is cheaper from Birmingham than from London.Paris is £26 from Dublin, £30 from Birmingham and £32 from Manchester. From London, it starts at £52, from Luton. From Stansted, it's £70.
❄️ Lapland for £37. Rovaniemi, in Finnish Lapland, is £37 from Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester. It comes in at £50 or less from six airports.
✌️ Two cities for £50 or less from 11 airports, in 4 nights or fewer. The cheapest is Toulouse then Rabat from Dublin, £40 for 4 nights.
In Europe, three airports tie at £41: Dublin has Tirana then Brussels, Bristol has Barcelona then Turin, and Stansted has Tirana then Poznań.
Even two nights can work. Manchester has Verona then Tirana for £48, with a night in each.
Where Cheap Flights Under £50 Are Hard to Find 🤏
Heathrow. It has 46 destinations, and just one comes in at £50 or less: Bilbao, at £50 for a single night. Only just. Its cheapest two-city trip is £69.
Gatwick, for its size. Gatwick has 114 destinations, the second most of any airport here. But only 21 are £50 or less, under a fifth. Stansted has 112 of 141.
Amsterdam.Amsterdam is £42 from Dublin. But from the 13 UK airports with a trip there, the cheapest is £76, from Belfast.
Istanbul.Istanbul starts at £113, from Manchester.
Two cities from 12 airports. Twelve airports have no two-city trip of 4 nights or fewer for £50 or less: Aberdeen, Belfast, Bournemouth, Cardiff, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow Prestwick, Heathrow, Leeds Bradford, Norwich and Southampton. Edinburgh (£52), Leeds Bradford (£53) and East Midlands (£54) come closest. Cardiff and Norwich have none that short at any price.
Spring. By March, seven airports have nothing at all for £50 or less: Aberdeen, Bournemouth, Exeter, Glasgow Prestwick, Heathrow, Norwich and Southend. Prestwick's cheapest trip goes from £30 in November to £81 in March. Exeter's goes from £36 to £91.
📌 Key points
Every one of the 23 UK and Ireland airports we searched has a return flight for £50 or less this winter.
London Stansted has the most: 112 of its 141 destinations.
The cheapest was £26: Paris or Stockholm from Dublin, or Cork, Limerick or Knock from eight airports in Great Britain.
11 airports have two cities in 4 nights or fewer for £50 or less. The cheapest is Toulouse then Rabat from Dublin, £40 for 4 nights.
The quieter months cost less: from Glasgow Prestwick, the cheapest trip ran from £30 to £81 across the winter.
Questions People Ask 💬
Which Airport Has the Most Flights Under £50?
London Stansted, with 112 of its 141 destinations at £50 or less, out and home. Next come Dublin with 69, and Manchester with 63.
Stansted has the biggest share too. 79% of its destinations come in at £50 or less.
When Is the Cheapest Time to Go?
In the quieter months, outside the school holidays. Half term, bank holiday weekends and big events push fares up.
The same airport can cost more than twice as much in a busy month. From Glasgow Prestwick, the cheapest trip ran from £30 to £81 across the winter, and from Exeter from £36 to £91.
Do the Prices Include a Hotel?
No. They're flights only, per person, out and home.
Every trip shows how many nights you'll spend, so you know what to book. You book each flight directly with the airline.
Or tell the search your airport, roughly when and for how long. It shows every trip that fits, cheapest first, including two or more cities with a night or more in each.
Prices were found between the 22nd and the 25th of October 2026: flights only, per person, rounded up to the next pound. Fares change every day, so search for today's.
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