Airport bosses say the busy Easter break provided a much-needed boost for the airline industry, with 380,000 passengers using Gatwick.

Figures for the early part of the year were looking dismal, as a result of the war in Iraq and the SARS outbreak.

Gatwick managing director Roger Cato said 6.2 per cent less passengers went through the airport in March compared to the same period last year.

But the decline was also partly blamed on the late Easter, which has now helped boost figures at Gatwick, the world's busiest single runway airport.

More than 82,000 people flew to and from Gatwick on Easter Saturday.

A further 62,000 took to the skies on Easter Sunday, most of whom were heading to or from Europe.

Malaga, Tenerife, Florida and Barcelona were the top four destinations.

In total, 1.6 million Britons jetted out of the country's seven main airports.

A BAA spokesman said everything had gone to plan with no major problems reported.

He said: "Our prediction of 380,000 passengers over the four days was almost exactly spot on.

"We were all rushed off our feet but there were no major problems.

"Despite the impact of war in the Gulf, we had a busy Easter. It's great to see the terminals buzzing again."

Figures released earlier in the month showed Gatwick suffered more heavily than any other UK airport following the September 11 terrorist attacks BAA said 829,200 fewer passengers used the airport in the last 12 months, which was 2.8 per cent down on the previous year.

In comparison, Heathrow was up 4.3 per cent.

Mr Cato said: "While a number of airlines have recently reduced the frequency of some services it is encouraging to see new services coming online."

These flights include Air Portugal, which has launched a new route to Funchal, Virgin Atlantic, which is flying to Port Harcourt in Nigeria, and Air Bosnia, now flying to Sarajevo.

There is still heightened security at Gatwick.

To speed up procedures passengers were asked to remove coats and carry only one item of hand luggage.