A group of local government agencies bought the former RAF station site in 1964, at which point a sizeable construction and runway investment programme was launched. The airfield was renamed East Midlands Airport to reflect the area it served, and it opened for passengers in April 1965, replacing the redundantDerby Airport.[6][7]
Until 1982, when the head office moved toDonington Hall,[9]British Midland had its head office on the airport property.[10] BMI also had its maintenance base at the airport.
In 1993,National Express purchased the airport from the local councils.[11] WithBournemouth Airport, it was sold toManchester Airports Group in February 2001.[12][13] In 2004 the airport was controversially renamed Nottingham East Midlands Airport.[14] The change, however, did not last long, and on 8 December 2006, the airport's name was reverted to East Midlands Airport.[15]
EasyJet ceased operating from the airport on 5 January 2010.[16] However, it was announced on 13 April 2011 thatBmibaby would close its Manchester and Cardiff bases, moving an additional service to East Midlands Airport with increased frequencies and new routes for summer 2012. It was announced only just over a year later, on 3 May 2012, that Bmibaby would close down and cease all operations in September 2012, with a number of services being dropped from June. The parent company,International Airlines Group, cited heavy losses and the failure to find a suitable buyer as the reasons for the decision.[17] In light of the announcement,Flybe andMonarch Airlines announced they would establish a base at the airport, and low-cost airlineJet2.com confirmed they would also expand their operations from the airport, with new routes and an additional aircraft from the summer of 2013. In 2015, the airport announced jet2.com would base a seventh aircraft at East Midlands Airport in the summer period. Ryanair expanded its East Midlands base with a series of new routes and frequency increases on existing routes. Ryanair became the largest airline at the airport, accounting for about 50% of passenger traffic, with East Midlands now being Ryanair's third-largest UK airport, afterLondon Stansted andManchester, both now also owned byMAG.
In 2016, Heathrow handled 1.54 million tonnes of freight and mail, compared with 300,100 tonnes in East Midlands.[4]DHL Aviation has a large purpose-built facility at EMA, and courier companiesUPS andPostNL use the airport as a base to import and export freight.[needs update]
On 4 March 2020,Flybe entered administration,[18] with EMA announcing that all flights were cancelled with immediate effect, the following day.[19]
In the summer of 2020,Aer Lingus announced they would commence flights to Belfast, operated byStobart Air, taking over the route which was once operated by Flybe,[20] until their collapse in early 2020. In June 2021, Stobart Air collapsed, ceasing the route. Later in the month, EasyJet announced they would take over the Belfast route, operating frequent flights toBelfast International Airport.[21] This was the first easyJet route announced from East Midlands since they stopped services from the airport in January 2010.
East Midlands Airport is a major hub for freight operations throughout Europe due to its central location within the United Kingdom. TheEast Midlands Gateway rail-served inland port lies immediately to the north of the airport. The airport serves as a hub forDHL Aviation[1] andUPS Airlines[2] and sees flights by several of their sub-contractors to domestic, European and intercontinental destinations. Cargo operations at the airport increased significantly throughout theCOVID-19 pandemic - cargo aircraft movements increasing by 10% in the first week following the implementation of social distancing measures on 16 March 2020[58] and overall annual freight and mail increasing by 13% from 2019 to 2020.[59] Further growth was seen throughout 2021 and 2022.[59][60]
ABritannia AirwaysBoeing 737-200 at East Midlands Airport in 1982.The air traffic control tower at East Midlands airport, located at the south of the airfield, next to the terminal.The check-in hall at the airport.
Busiest routes to and from East Midlands (2022)[61]
Pegasus Business Park, an office complex, is on the airport grounds. The now-defunct airlineflybmi formerly had its head office at Pegasus Business Park.[62]
The airport has excellent connections to the motorway network, as it is near the intersection of theM1,A42 andA50 atDonington Park, bringing the airfield within easy reach of the major population centres of the Midlands. TheA46 is also within reach for journeys to the rest of theEast Midlands.
The airport has no direct access to the passenger rail network or theNottingham Express Transit tram network.[63] The nearest railway station isEast Midlands Parkway, four miles (six kilometres) away, with regular services toLeicester,Derby,Sheffield,Lincoln,Nottingham andLondon St Pancras. The original shuttle bus service linking the station and the airport ceased not long after it was introduced,[64] but in 2015 an hourly minibus service was reintroduced by Elite Cars, restoring scheduled shuttle services to and from the airport.[65] Connections to the airport via taxi are also available.
A dedicated railway station at the airport is proposed, which would be connected to the existing network via a spur from theMidland main line. If the project goes ahead, it is expected to be complete by 2040 and will offer direct services to nearby cities as well as the existingEast Midlands Parkway railway station. A new line to the airport on the Nottingham Express Transit network is also proposed, planned to be open by 2045.[66]
A 700-acre (280 ha)railfreight terminal,East Midlands Gateway, opened on the SEGRO Logistics Park to the north of the airport in 2020,[67] so that the site is now served by air, road and rail cargo. As of December 2021, this was handling 10,000 shipping containers, with trains to ports including Felixstowe, London Gateway, Southampton and Liverpool.[68]
TheEast Midlands Aeropark to the north west corner of the airport has a large number of static aircraft on public display, the majority of which are from British manufacturers. Themuseum and its exhibits are managed and maintained by the Aeropark Volunteers Association (AVA). It also offers two viewing mounds for watching aircraft arriving and departing from the main runway. AVA Members are allowed free access to the Aeropark. Exhibits include anAérospatiale Gazelle, ade Havilland Vampire and anEnglish Electric Canberra amongst several others.[74]
On 31 January 1986,Aer LingusFlight 328, aShort 360, en route fromDublin, struck power lines and crashed short of the runway. None of the 36 passengers and crew died but two passengers were injured in the accident.[76]
On 18 January 1987, a British MidlandFokker F27 Friendship, on a training flight, crashed on approach to East Midlands Airport due to wing and tail surface icing. There were no fatalities.[77]
On 8 January 1989,British Midland Flight 92 crashed on approach to East Midlands Airport, killing 47 people. TheBoeing 737 aircraft had developed a fan blade failure in one of the two engines while en route from London Heathrow toBelfast and a decision was made to divert to East Midlands. The crew mistakenly shut down the functioning engine, causing the aircraft to lose power and crash on the embankment of the M1 Motorway just short of the runway. No one on the ground was injured and no vehicles were damaged despite the aircraft crashing on the embankment of one of the busiest sections of motorway in the UK. The investigation into the Kegworth air disaster, as the incident became known, led to considerable improvements in aircraft safety and emergency instructions for passengers. The official report into the disaster made 31 safety recommendations.
On 29 October 2010, in the2010 cargo plane bomb plot, British police searched aUPS plane at East Midlands Airport but found nothing.[78] Later that day, when a package was found on a plane inDubai, theUnited Arab Emirates, British officials searched again and found a bomb.[79] The two packages, found on two planes originating inYemen, contained the powerfulhigh explosivePETN. The U.K. and the U.S. determined that the plan was to detonate them while in flight.Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula took responsibility.[80]
^"World Airline Directory."Flight International. 26 July 1980.295Archived 6 March 2016 at theWayback Machine. "Head Office: East Midlands Airport, Castle Donington, Derby, Great Britain. 37172."
^"BMI Baby to be grounded by BA owner IAG". BBC. 3 May 2012.Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved14 October 2016.BMI Baby has delivered high levels of operational performance and customer service, but has continued to struggle financially, losing more than £100m in the last four years,
^"Airport Data 2022". UK Civil Aviation Authority. 21 March 2023. Tables 12.1(XLS) and 12.2 (XLS). Retrieved23 March 2023.
^"Contact Us."Flybmi. 12 July 2017. retrieved on 18 February 2019. "Head Office bmi regional Pegasus Business Park Herald Way East Midlands Airport Castle Donington DE74 2TU"
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