More parents are jetting off alone on holiday without their children

Tantrums on flights and arguments over applying the factor 50 mean most parents find family holidays harder than work.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that more couples with younger children are choosing to jet off abroad without them.

Almost one in three parents (29 per cent) with children aged under 15 travelled alone as a couple in the past 12 months, up from one in five (21 per cent) last year.

The report, by travel association ABTA, found that British people prefer to travel with their partners as a couple over anyone else.

It also found that big group holidays are more popular than ever, with 18 per cent of families holidaying with one or more other families last year, while 10 per cent of families travelled as a multi-generational group, with grandparents in tow.

An ABTA spokesperson said: ‘Our research shows that families are big fans of holidays, taking almost six trips each year on average.

‘While most of the time they’re travelling as a family unit, we’re increasingly seeing parents squeezing in a couple’s break each year too.’

A separate survey released in the US earlier this week found 28 per cent of parents would prefer listening to ‘Baby Shark’ on repeat for their entire trip rather than deal with a screaming child, while 13 per cent would opt for a root canal over holiday travel challenges.

The study, commissioned by Welch’s Fruit Snacks, found ‘peak stress’ hits precisely three and a half hours into the journey.