A busy half-term holiday saw May provide a strong start to East Midlands Airport’s (EMA) summer season, with an 8% increase in passenger numbers on 2023.
Over half of the 763,000 people who have flown through EMA so far this financial year did so last month, with the spring break helping to boost numbers by 57,000 on last year.
• Download Festival: East Midlands Airport passenger warning for traffic disruption
Close to 10,000 people travelled through the airport on one day alone, with Friday 24 May becoming the busiest day so far at EMA this year.
New features in the departure lounge include:
- A bigger JD Sports outlet for those last-minute holiday purchases of sliders, baseball caps and other leisurewear
- New stylish, modern seating in an area close to all the shops, providing additional seating and charging points for personal devices
- Fully refurbished and modernised toilets, baby changing facilities and Changing Place toilets.
Work has started on preparing the security hall for new scanning equipment which will be ready next year – but in the meantime, customers are advised that security arrangements are the same as usual.
Popular beach holiday destinations within reach of EMA include Palma, Lanzarote, Alicante, Faro, Malaga, Corfu, Ibiza, Gran Canaria and Tenerife, with plenty of city break options also available including Rome, Paris and Barcelona. Ryanair, JET2.com and TUI are the main operators based at EMA serving top destinations across Europe and north Africa, along with Aer Lingus Regional, Eastern Airways, Aurigny and Blue Islands which offer a selection of other routes including some closer to home, such as the Channel Islands and Ireland.
Naples is a new destination this year with TUI, while also for the first time, EMA customers can easily reach 180 major destinations right across the globe with a new connection to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport with Eastern Airways. Customers can directly book a point-to-point journey, from EMA to any of Air France’s worldwide destinations via CDG, at www.airfrance.co.uk. The new CDG route also offers a great way to get to the Summer Olympics held in Paris this year.
EMA’s Customer and Planning Director Mike Grimes said: “May often gives us a good indication of how our summer is shaping up, so these figures mean we’re expecting a strong performance in the months ahead. We look forward to welcoming our customers heading for their summer holidays in Europe and beyond – as always we will aim to make it as effortless and enjoyable as possible.”
• Community Theatre refurbishment design plans explained by local architect
• Ed Miliband: “Nottinghamshire will feel the benefit of large solar farms”