From the Midlands to Majorca and back in a day

Two sisters who have been trying out "extreme day trips", where they fly abroad and return home in time for bed, say it is an affordable way to see the world.

After getting the one-day travel bug herself, Gina Rowbery from Cannock, Staffordshire, got her sister Toni to join her on a day trip to Majorca.

"The world's your oyster I suppose, especially at those prices," said Toni, adding she had been "a bit apprehensive" but had had a brilliant time.

There are concerns, however, the trend is bad for the environment, as it encourages airlines to put on extra flights.

Gina said she was "massively surprised" at how much the pair got done in just six-and-a-half hours in Palma de Mallorca.

"We left the airport, caught a bus into Palma old town, saw the old streets and statues, a beautiful abbey," said Toni. "You've got the cathedral, you've got the castle, you've got the seafront - there's just so much to do.

"It was absolutely brilliant. It was worth every penny."

Such trips have exploded in popularity recently - with one UK-based Facebook page growing from 3,000 members to more than 300,000 in the past few years.

Michael Cracknell, who runs the Extreme Day Trips group, said it ultimately came down to affordability.

"If you want to go on a day trip to Edinburgh on the train, you're talking hundreds and hundreds of pounds, where you can go to Pisa or Milan with one of the budget airlines for about £20 each return," he said.

He said it was "a shame" the expense of public transport in the UK meant people were not encouraged to use it.

"Days out and travelling within this country needs to be made more affordable for families," he added.

The sisters said they would "100% continue" to do the quickie trips, flying out from nearby Birmingham Airport.

"I've been to Paris, Dublin, and Majorca so far, and I'll definitely do more," said Gina.

"Being able to do it in such a short time space is nice because you don't spend any extra money on accommodation, and you don't even need to use annual leave from work."

Toni added: "I'd love to go to Rome, which is on my bucket list. Poland, Hungary, Budapest - there's a big wide world out there, why not experience it?"

Despite the surge in interest, extreme day trips have been criticised for their impact on climate obligations and the UK economy.

Flights are responsible for 2.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions and 8% of UK emissions.

The Aviation Environment Federation called it "a sad state of affairs" that flying abroad for 24 hours seemed more attractive than a UK day trip and highlighted that the environmental cost was not reflected in the price of flights.

"This is all reflective of the fact that flying is artificially cheap," a spokesperson said.

"These artificially low prices mean that more people leave the UK than come in as tourists - and result in a £32bn travel spending deficit to the UK economy."

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