Airport braces itself for big Christmas getaway
East Midlands Airport says it will see 78,300 passengers flying away for the festive holidays, a 14% increase from last year.
Almost 10,000 more people are expected to travel from the region’s airport over the period 23rd December 2016 to 2nd January 2017, when compared to the same period last year. The busiest day is expected to be Thursday 29th December in which 9,450 people will be travelling.
Popular hotspots such as the Canary Islands and the Mediterranean appear in the top destinations for people who are spending Christmas and New Year abroad.
The summer 2016 season saw 3.1 million people travel through the airport and was the busiest summer on record since the recession in 2008.
This week has also seen the completion of its runway resurfacing project in which 150,000 square metres of runway has been resurfaced and over 1,200 lights replaced over seven consecutive 48 hour closures.
Andy Cliffe, managing director East Midlands Airport said: “We had an incredible summer this year with a 6.9% rise in passenger numbers. Having now seen 11 months of continuous growth in passenger numbers, it is clear that we are growing sustainably, following the effects of the recession and the loss of Monarch airlines.
“We have worked incredibly hard throughout the winter months to ensure minimal disruption with our runway project. This was the single biggest infrastructure project we have completed in many years and was a UK first in the way that it was completed. It was a great success and is testament to the great collaboration between the airport staff and the principle contractor on the project, Galliford Try.”
Predictions for the remaining winter period and into summer next year are looking positive with the airport expected to see a rise in passenger numbers for the financial year 16/17 and a continuous increase over the summer 17 programme. Jet2.com has already announced new routes to Paris, Girona, Almeria, Naples, Split and Halkidiki, as well as Ryanair announcing new routes to Reus, Budapest and Girona.
Cliffe continued: “As we are half way into the winter season, we are continuing to see this growth trend continue with passenger numbers rising. We are expecting that despite the runway refurbishment project, which will see a small dip in passenger numbers, we will still be ahead of last year’s figures.
“The cargo element of our business is also performing strongly, with over 166,500 tonnes carried in the first half of the financial year. We expect this to continue throughout the next year and with DHL’s £90 million expansion and the addition of a new Etihad service, this will be ever more achievable.”
