Passenger numbers take-off at East Midlands Airport
Passenger numbers have risen at East Midlands Airport (EMA) between April and September, with 2.2 million passing through the facility.
This is up 400,000 on 2021 and is the largest increase across the Manchester Airports Group (MAG) portfolio, which includes EMA, Manchester and London Stansted. Between them, the three airports served 30.5 million passengers this summer compared with 6.6 million passengers during the same period in 2021. Overall, for MAG, this represents 84% of pre-Covid passenger traffic.
EMA remains on target to serve 75% of pre-Covid passenger volumes by the end of the year.
Demand for the airport’s express air freight operation, which is the largest of its type in the UK, continues. In the first six months of this year more than 200,000 tonnes of goods have been handled at EMA.
The months of November and December are the airport’s peak season for cargo, when a surge in demand is driven by Black Friday and into the run-up to Christmas. One million individual items pass through the airport each day with goods ranging from manufactured components to household items, and personal electronic devices to medical supplies.
Steve Griffiths, East Midlands Airport’s managing firector, said: “The team here pulled out all the stops to deliver a seamless service during the summer months, which are EMA’s busiest for passenger travel. The first half of the year shows encouraging signs that demand for international travel is still strong. Next year we look forward to welcoming even more people through our doors as we continue our post-pandemic recovery.
“As the UK’s most important airport for express freight, we continue to provide an invaluable service to businesses that need quick and easy access to global markets as well as consumers who rely on next-day deliveries.”
Charlie Cornish, MAG CEO, said: “These half-year results demonstrate the significant progress our business has made over the summer months.
“The uplift in passenger numbers we have seen reflects the strong demand for international travel since restrictions were lifted, with more than 30 million passengers travelling through our airports between April and September.
“After a challenging start to the summer season, I am pleased to have welcomed more than 2,000 new colleagues into the business and want to assure all our customers we are focussed on delivering a positive experience for the remainder of the year, and throughout 2023.”
