Gatwick Airport reports a rise of 4 % in the number of Brits jetting abroad over Easter as people take advantage of a late Easter, early May bank holiday and the Royal Wedding.  Malaga is proving to be the most popular destination with 48,000 Brits heading off from Gatwick to the capital of the Costa del Sol.  Dublin and Alicante also make up the top three popular destinations.

Guy Stephenson, Commercial Director at Gatwick Airport said: “Easter is always a busy time for Gatwick with passengers jetting off to popular hot spots in the Canaries, the Algarve and Turkey to enjoy the sunshine after a long, cold Winter.  But this year we are gearing up for an even busier Easter with the string of bank holidays and the extra day for the Royal Wedding meaning passengers can take an 11 day holiday with just three days annual leave.

“Despite the Royal Wedding at the end of the month, our busiest period remains the second weekend of April when the Spring school half term starts.  We will be handling 500,000 passengers that weekend, which is a 6% increase on last year.”

The top 10 Easter and Royal Wedding destinations for passengers flying from Gatwick are:

1 Malaga
2 Dublin
3 Alicante
4 Faro
5 Madrid
6 Tenerife
7 Geneva
8 Edinburgh
9 Orlando
10 Amsterdam

Gatwick understands that while holidays are a fun time for everyone, particularly children, it can be a handful for parents trying to contain their children’s excitement.  Which is why Gatwick is putting on some eggstraspecial entertainment for its younger passengers for the Easter getaway weekends.

Between 8-11 April and 15-18 April, children can enjoy some story-telling in the dedicated kids zones in both the south and north terminals, with all storytellers dressed up as well known storybook characters.  There will also be colouring books and crayons to keep the children busy and entertained before their flights.

Children can also enjoy an Easter egg hunt and a game of spin-the-wheel in the south terminal World Duty Free.