Almost 207,000 people flew through East Midlands Airport last month – an increase of 3.6% on last March and an indication of a strong summer ahead.
The airport also had a busy Easter, serving more than 170,000 passengers over the half-term fortnight, travelling to popular short-haul destinations largely with low-cost airlines that operate from East Midlands: Ryanair, Jet2 and TUI. This was up 8% on Easter last year.
All have launched their summer schedules, with Ryanair offering 32 routes, Jet2 offering 42 routes and TUI offering 28 routes. Jet2 has added four new destinations for summer 2026 – the Greek destinations of Preveza, Thessaloniki and Chania, along with Pula in Croatia – while TUI has reintroduced flights to the popular Egyptian destination, Sharm El Sheikh. There are also extra frequencies on nine of the most popular routes from East Midlands, including Alicante, Malta and Rhodes.
At the end of May, Loganair is launching new daily flights between East Midlands Airport and the popular destination of Jersey.
People choosing to fly from East Midlands now benefit from a wide range of new facilities, from a new-look security hall with next-generation scanners and new and refurbished restaurants and shops, to a new children’s play zone, a new quiet room and sensory pod, along with extra seating, better Wi-Fi and refurbished toilet facilities throughout the terminal.
The airport has also recently introduced improvements to its popular Meet & Greet parking service. Along with an improved reception area and a clearer, colour-coded parking layout to help customers find their vehicles on return from holiday, customers are now able to securely drop off and pick up their car keys in automated machines to avoid possible queues.
East Midlands Airport’s Managing Director, Steve Griffiths, said: “We’re delighted that increasing numbers of people are choosing to fly from East Midlands. We know that many people prefer East Midlands to other airports because we offer them an effortless start to their holiday.
“But we haven’t rested on our laurels – we’re in the middle of a five-year investment programme which has seen enormous changes throughout the airport to further enhance the customer experience. We’re hopeful that these recent passenger figures, showing a strong March and Easter, are a sign of another great summer ahead.”
