East Midlands Airport (EMA)

About East Midlands International Airport

East Midlands Airport lies between the cities of Derby, Leicester and Nottingham, all of which are within a 30-mile radius of the airfield. It is located close to the village of Castle Donington in Leicestershire. East Midlands Airport is the second largest cargo airport in the UK after London Heathrow. It houses several freight companies’ bases. East Midlands Airport handled more than 4.7 million passengers in 2006, ranking it the 13th busiest passenger airport in the UK.

Parking at the Airport

East Midlands Airport has several car parks to suit all passengers’ needs. The short stay car park is suitable for passengers requiring parking for 24 hours or less. This car park is located right next to the terminal. This car park has a special pick up and drop off zone, which allows drivers up to 10 minutes free parking. There are dedicated spaces with assistance points for passengers with special needs within this car park. Customers holding a disabled badge can park in these spaces at the relevant medium/long stay rates.
There are also several medium and long stay car parks for those require parking for more than 1 day. Car parks 1,2,3 and 4 are all located close to the terminal and are within walking distance, However, there is also a free shuttle bus service to take passengers to and from the Terminal. Some of these car parks can be pre-booked at discounted rates.
Car park 7 is a long stay car park that can be pre-booked at discounted rates. This car park is a little further away from the terminal and is also served by a free shuttle bus every 10 minutes.

Facilities and Services

East Midlands Airport has services to 105 international scheduled and charter destinations. The airport’s passenger terminal has facilities that include airport information; baby change facilities; Business Lounge; car hire; chaplaincy; children’s play area; currency exchange; Internet access; prayer room and facilities for passengers requiring special assistance.
The terminal also offers a small range of retail and catering outlets including high street names such as Boots; Burger King; Costa Coffee and Dixons.
East Midlands Airport has an executive lounge, available to both business and leisure passengers for a small fee. The Penauille Servisair Executive Lounge offers all of the usual amenities that business travellers may need for them to complete last minute business before boarding their flight. In addition travellers can unwind with a choice of complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments, and a range of snacks. The lounge has flat screen TV or passengers may like to read the latest newspapers and magazines, all in a comfortable relaxing environment.

Getting To The Airport

By car - East Midlands Airport is located off the A453 close to Castle Donington and the M1 motorway. From the M1 north, take junction 24 and follow the A453 to the Airport. From the M1 south, exit at junction 23A and follow the signs for the airport.
By rail - the nearest railway stations to East Midlands Airport are at Loughborough, Long Eaton, Nottingham and Derby. Passengers can connect to East Midlands Airport from these stations by airport link buses, local buses or taxi.
By bus/coach - there is an Airline shuttle bus that runs from Derby and Loughborough stations to the Terminal. Passengers arriving at Nottingham station can take the Nottingham Skylink Bus and passengers who arrive via Long Eaton can connect to East Midlands Airport by taking the Rainbow bus service 5. National Express Coach Services operate route 240 that links the airport to a number of cities and other airports in the UK.

History of East Midlands Airport

The site of today’s East Midlands Airport was originally the Royal Air Force’s station, RAF Castle Donington. After the station was decommissioned the site was unused until it was purchased by a group of local government authorities in 1964. A major investment programme of building works and runway improvements began and the airfield was renamed East Midlands Airport to reflect the area it served. The new airport was officially opened by HRH, Prince Philip in April 1965.

The new airport replaced the already operational Derby Airport at Burnaston, a site just 10 miles away. Derby Airways, which was in the process of being renamed British Midland Airways, transferred its operations to the new airport and established its headquarters in nearby Castle Donington. BMI as it is currently known, created a network of domestic and international scheduled and charter flights at the new airport. Financially, the new East Midlands Airport was not an instant success. However the picture quickly changed with the increased volume of freight traffic. In 1970, an agreement was reached on creating a new freight complex and both the runway and the terminal were extended.

The airport’s expansion was swift and a further runway extension and terminal upgrade took place in the late 1970s. In 1985, annual passenger figures reached one million for the first time, resulting in a further extension of the terminal building. Due to government legislation, the airport became a public limited company in 1987.

With growing passenger and freight traffic, further expansion of the airport was proposed in 1992. However, the local authorities who owned the airport, did not have and could not raise the funds required. So in 1993, East Midlands became the first major regional airport in the UK to be privatised. The National Express Group purchased the airport for £24.3m and began to investment in the airport facilities. A 600m extension to the runway was added to enable the airport to handle long haul flights, and a new air traffic control tower was constructed, the second tallest in the UK. National Express’ investment would eventually total more than £77m over an 8 year period.

A new £35m cargo facility was opened by DHL Aviation at the airport in 2000. The National Express Group announced its intention to concentrate on bus and rail provision, and sold East Midlands Airport, together with Bournemouth Airport and Humberside Airport, in March 2001 to the Manchester Airports Group for £241m.

The arrival of low fare "no-frills" carriers in 2002 resulted in a sharp jump in annual passenger numbers, rising 3.23 million. The airline Go Fly which is now been absorbed by easyJet, set up a hub at East Midlands and the majority of BMI’s operations there were given to their new low cost subsidiary, bmibaby.

A controversial decision was made in 2004 to rename East Midlands Airport to Nottingham East Midlands Airport. The decision was unpopular with local people as the airport is located in Leicestershire, is in the Derby postal area and is closer to the city of Derby. Also there was already a Nottingham Airport, which was closer to Nottingham, even though it was only a small airfield catering to general aviation.

By 2006, annual passengers had reached 4.72 million, the thirteenth highest in the UK. On the 8th December 2006 the airport’s name was officially changed again to East Midlands Airport: Nottingham, Leicester, Derby.