East Midlands Airport is poised for its busiest day this summer on the weekend it is celebrating its official opening 60 years ago by the Duke of Edinburgh.
More than 18,500 people are set to travel through the airport on Sunday 20 July as school summer holidays get underway – compared to a daily average of 315 passengers in 1965.
Around one million people have flown through East Midlands Airport since its summer season got underway in May, with a further 882,000 passengers scheduled over the forthcoming school holiday period.
People choosing East Midlands Airport for their summer getaway this year will notice lots of improvements that have been carried out as part of a £120 million investment programme.
Anyone using the rapid drop-off area will find a new barrierless, cashless payment system in place to help cars flow easily through the area. Customers must now pay online or by phone by midnight the next day.
The security arrangements have also been upgraded, with a fresh, contemporary look to the security hall as well as next-generation scanners improving the experience. Customers can leave electrical items and liquids in hand luggage, although the 100ml limit still applies.
Once in the departure lounge, people will find a brand-new restaurant, Alembic, a redecorated and expanded Escape Lounge, and a refurbished Castle Rock Bar and Kitchen, along with Castle Rock’s new bar, The Yard. There are also new toilets, baby changing facilities and a multi-faith room, as well as extra seating and better Wi-Fi.
Customers who need extra support on the journey through the airport will continue to have a great experience, with the airport’s Assisted Travel Service – which has invested in new electric ‘ambulift’ vehicles to transport customers to aircraft – recently rated Very Good by the Civil Aviation Authority for the sixth year in a row.
Some of the most popular destinations are Alicante, Tenerife, Mallorca, Malaga, Lanzarote, Corfu, Paphos, Antalya, and Kefalonia. City break options include Rome, Dubrovnik, Pisa, Verona, Paris, Berlin, Budapest, Krakow, and, closer to home, Belfast, Dublin, Jersey and Guernsey.
This summer, TUI has also added Boa Vista in the Cape Verde Islands to its routes from East Midlands Airport, along with Burgas in Bulgaria – both offering fantastic family-friendly beach holidays. There are also extra seats available on Jet2’s flights to Corfu throughout the summer holidays, with weekly Friday services.
East Midlands Airport was officially opened by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh on Monday 21 July 1965. A plaque is to be unveiled on Monday 21 July to mark the completion of the expansion and transformation of the security hall. A family fun weekend is also taking place from 19–21 July at the East Midlands Aeropark.
East Midlands Airport’s Managing Director, Steve Griffiths, said: “We’re looking forward to another great summer season at East Midlands Airport. And what better way to mark our 60th anniversary than with our busiest day of the summer.
“It really shows how far we’ve come as an airport when we’ll be welcoming 18,500 people this Sunday compared to just 315 daily passengers in our first year.
“I’m delighted that customers will benefit from so many improvements that we’ve been carrying out in time for this summer – from our massively improved security hall with state-of-the-art scanning equipment, to new bars, restaurants and other customer facilities. It’s all aimed at helping us to meet our customer promise of effortless travel.”
