East Midlands International Airport (EMA)

Introduction

East Midlands International Airport is a busy airport in the centre of England. Over 4.7 million passengers are handled by East Midlands International Airport every year. Located near to Castle Donington in Leicestershire and lying between the cities of Nottingham, Leicester and Derby, all of which are within a 30 mile radius of the airport, East Midlands International Airport is also the second largest cargo airport in the UK after London Heathrow, with a number of freight companies having bases there.

Facilities and Services

East Midlands International Airport can offer its passengers flights to several scheduled and seasonal chartered destinations, including domestic; European; transatlantic; and services to Africa.
East Midlands International Airport has one terminal that provides passengers a departure lounge containing a fair range of retail and catering outlets. East Midlands International Airport also has currency exchange facilities, car hire representatives and information desks to meet arriving passengers needs.
East Midlands International Airport has an exclusive Business Lounge. The Penauille Servisair Executive Lounge is located in the departure lounge. Passengers can enjoy business facilities such as fax; e-mail; and Internet access as well as complimentary drinks and snacks in a quiet and relaxing atmosphere.

Getting To The Airport

East Midlands Airport is in the centre of the country and is located close to Castle Donington and the M1 motorway. From the M1 north, take junction 24 and follow the A453 To East Midlands Airport. From the M1 south, take junction 23A and follow the signs for the East Midlands Airport.
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 taxi or bus. 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 5 bus.
National Express operates long distance coach services linking East Midlands Airport to a number of cities and other airports in the UK.

Parking at the Airport

East Midlands Airport has short stay parking for customers requiring parking for 24 hours or less. This car park is situated in front of the Terminal and it cannot be pre-booked. Customers must pay on foot, however there is a special drop off and pick up zone within this car park where customers can have up to 10 minutes free parking.
There are medium stay car parks for those require parking for up to 4 days, which can be pre-booked. These car parks are within walking distance of the Terminal but there is also a free shuttle bus service that will take passengers to and from the Terminal.
There are pre-bookable long stay car parks available to passengers who require parking for more than 1 day. All the long stay car parks offer a park and ride service, which transports passengers from the car parks to the terminal building and vice versa after their trip.
In order to make a booking to secure a space at any of these pre-bookable car parks at East Midlands Airport via carparkinguk.co.uk.

History of East Midlands Airport

East Midlands Airport: Nottingham, Leicester, Derby started life as a Royal Air Force station, RAF Castle Donington. After it was decommissioned in the early 1960’s, a consortium of local government authorities bought it and named it East Midlands Airport to reflect the area that it served. It also replaced the original Derby Airport site at 77Burnaston, which was being redeveloped and on which now stands a Toyota car factory. East Midlands Airport was opened in 1965 by Prince Philip.

Derby Airways, which subsequently became British Midland Airways, moved its operations to the new airport and set up its headquarters in nearby Castle Donington. It was announced that in 1985 1 million passengers passed through the airport, and it became clear that further expansion was going to be required to handle the increasing demand. In 1986 Princess Anne opened a £3 million terminal extension.

A £20 million, 600 metre extension to the runway was added in the 1990’s to allow East Midlands Airport to handle long haul flights and a new air traffic control tower was constructed, the second tallest in the UK. In 1999 a new business park was built, which now boasts hotels, office blocks and major business headquarters. In 2000 DHL Aviation opened a new £35 million cargo facility on the airport site. Also in 2001 the advent of low fares “no frill” carriers meant a rise in passenger numbers, rising 7% in a year to 2.38 million annually. Go Fly established a hub at East Midlands which has continued to prosper since the airline’s absorption by easyJet.

In 2004 the airport was renamed Nottingham East Midlands Airport. This decision was considered controversial as the site of the airport lies in Leicestershire, has a Derby postcode and the nearest city is actually Derby. In addition there is already a Nottingham Airport in existence, which is closer to the city. The decision was taken because many people from outside the UK and unfamiliar with the country’s geography could not identify with the term ‘East Midlands’ and understandably did not know exactly where in the UK it was. The reason for adding ‘Nottingham’ to the title was due to the fact that the city had greater international recognition through its size and historical connections. In December 2006 the decision was made to rebrand again and the airport is now named East Midlands Airport: Nottingham, Leicester and Derby.