UK Easter Travel Takes Off: 11,200+ Flights and 2 Million Seats Scheduled

The Easter long weekend is one of the busiest periods for the British travel industry, and 2025 is no exception. With public holidays on both Friday and Monday – plus many schools closed for at least a week – it’s a prime opportunity for families to get away after a long winter. 

Companies offering short-haul leisure breaks are well placed to take advantage, with easyJet Holidays among those expecting its busiest-ever Easter.

New data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows more than 11,200 flights will depart UK airports during the Easter weekend alone. This equates to more than two million seats. The busiest travel day is due to be April 17 – also known as Good Friday – with hundreds of thousands taking advantage of the full four-day holiday. 

When comparing 2024, it’s important to note that this year’s Easter weekend falls three weeks later than last year. This pushes Easter into the summer schedule for most airlines, with a natural uplift in leisure capacity. It can also influence consumer decision-making, with the changing seasons a key consideration for many. 

Cirium expects total departures to be up 6% compared to Easter 2024, with fellow aviation data firm OAG forecasting a 7% increase – some 210,000 seats. The numbers are impressive, however, Cirium notes that they remain 4% down compared to Easter 2019. 

Where are Brits Going?

With a very high – if not record-breaking – number of departures forecast, the next question is the destination. Skift spoke to several of the UK’s leading industry players to find out where the Brits are flying this year.

For beach holidays, Dalaman in Turkey is a top choice for easyJet passengers, with the Spanish favorites of Majorca and Tenerife close behind. Flights to North African destinations are also busy, with easyJet noting Enfidha in Tunisia and Marrakesh in Morocco as particularly popular for customers looking for near-guaranteed sunshine.

The budget airline highlights Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Paris as its most popular city break locations. 

A spokesperson for Jet2holidays, the UK’s largest tour operator, told Skift that alongside traditional hotspots such as Spain, Greece, and Portugal, this year it is seeing high demand for Bulgaria, Croatia, and Morocco.

The Jet2 airline and its holiday division have expanded significantly since last Easter. The company’s largest-ever schedule is on sale from 13 UK airports, including two new bases in Bournemouth and London Luton.

Sticking with the airport perspective, London Gatwick is expecting more than 750 flights on Good Friday alone. Its most popular destinations over the long weekend are Malaga, Barcelona, and Dubai. 

Dalaman, Dubai… and Dublin

Amid the rush to sunnier southern climes, Dublin will be the international destination with the highest number of UK outbound passengers this weekend.

John Grant, chief analyst at OAG, said the Irish capital is always a popular choice for Easter getaways, with family visits boosting overall demand.

“While recognizing that last year’s Easter fell in the traditional winter season for airline schedules, a 7% increase in capacity reflects the strength of the UK market,” said Grant.

“Capacity to Spain is very strong this year with Alicante, Malaga, and Palma all seeing large volumes of capacity planned over the Easter seasonal holiday although Dublin, as always, given the large family market remains the top destination from the UK,” he said.

Family holidays traditionally have a longer booking curve, and certainly longer than ad-hoc corporate trips. It’s therefore likely that many Easter travelers booked and paid for their travels before the recent turbulence in global financial markets. 

Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, added: “Despite economic uncertainty, Easter travel remains robust, particularly in the leisure sector.”