Nearly half a million use Gatwick over half-term weekend

Gatwick Airport handled nearly half a million passengers between October 19th and 22nd as thousands of families took advantage of the half-term break to go on holiday.

The busiest day of all was Friday October 19th, with around 115,000 passengers travelling from Gatwick.

Traditional holiday hotspots in countries such as Spain and Portugal were the most popular options from the London hub.

Malaga was the number one travel destination, followed by Tenerife, Faro in Portugal, Palma de Mallorca and Dalaman in Turkey.

Edinburgh was the busiest UK route, while longer haul destinations also made the list of top ten locations in the form of Orlando International and Sanford Airport in Florida.

Gatwick Airport handles traffic flow of around 32 million passengers a year, making it the busiest single-runway air hub in the world and the second largest base in the UK after Heathrow Airport.