Flights are usually one of the most expensive parts of a holiday. Experts say that flying at undesirable times such as early in the morning or late at night could save tourists money. I tested the theory to see if I could get a cheaper flight by heading to the airport early.

Karen Jordann, head of UK at WorldRemit, said: “You can make some real savings if you’re prepared to fly as early as 5am or 6am.”

I’m not a morning person, so the idea of travelling to the airport for a 5am flight is less than appealing. However, it could be a way to save money.

In this test, I searched for the cheapest flights from London to Alicante leaving on August 2 and returning on August 9.

The cheapest option I found on Skyscanner was a Ryanair flight for £110 leaving Stansted at 7:35pm and landing at 11:10pm in Alicante.

The cheapest return option was on British Airways leaving Alicante at 1:20am and landing in Gatwick at 2:55am.

The next cheapest choice to fly out to Alicante was a British Airways flight leaving Gatwick at 6:40am.

While the evening flight on Ryanair means I wouldn’t have to get up early, I wouldn’t arrive in Alicante until very late on.

To catch the 6:40am flight on British Airways, I’d have to arrive at the airport at around 4:40am, making it a very early start to the holiday.

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In another test, I checked the same dates for flights from London to Faro in Portugal. The cheapest option was an easyJet flight leaving Luton Airport at 6:40am and landing in Faro at 9:30am.

The budget return option was another easyJet flight leaving Faro at 6:20am and arriving in Gatwick at 9:10am.

Flying early morning or late evening can definitely save money on flights but it’s not always as simple as it appears.

If I booked the late evening flight to Alicante, I’d have to fork out for a night’s accommodation for when I arrive but wouldn’t have any time to do anything that day.

It’s also important to check whether you’ll be able to reach your accommodation at that time of night.

Package holiday providers or big hotels will usually offer transfers to tourists which may run at all hours of the night.

However, if there’s no public transport running to the hotel, tourists might end up forking out money on an expensive late night taxi.

I’d also need to check whether I would be able to reach the airport in the UK before 6am to catch my flight. Public transport doesn’t run all night in the UK and tourists might end up having to pay for a taxi.

On the other hand, flying early in the morning will give tourists the chance to have a full extra day on holiday.

Although hotels might not let tourists check in until the afternoon, most will offer a place to leave luggage.

If that’s not an option, tourists could use the Bounce or NannyBag service to find a safe place to leave their bag but this will cost extra.

It’s important to weigh up all the options before booking an early morning flight as the savings might not be substantial once you’ve factored in extra costs.

All flight prices correct at the time of writing and found on Skyscanner

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