It’s ‘plane sailing’ for East Midlands Airport customers this May half term and summer
People choosing East Midlands Airport for their getaways can look forward to a ‘plane sailing’ summer as the popular gateway to Europe continues to deliver its effortless travel pledge.
Airport figures show 167,000 will fly through East Midlands during the May half-term holiday – around 17,000 more than last year, offering a glimpse of a busy summer ahead. Passenger figures for the last two months also show a positive performance compared with last year, almost 25,000 up across March and April when the airport experienced a strong Easter break.
Recent data from the Civil Aviation Authority reveals East Midlands flights experienced the fourth lowest number of delays across all UK airports last year. The airport achieved a 90.4% ‘On Time Performance’ score for departures in the busiest early morning wave.
The three main airlines based at East Midlands – Ryanair, Jet2 and TUI – all operate low-cost connections on short-haul flights to popular destinations in Europe and north Africa, providing strong schedule stability. ABTA and ATOL protected package holiday deals with Jet2 and TUI provide further peace of mind for travellers.
A wide range of improvements carried out over the last three years also enhance the customer experience when flying from East Midlands Airport. Meet & Greet customers can now skip queues by opting to use self-serve kiosks to securely drop off and collect their car keys, while queuing is also a thing of the past when dropping off friends and family now that a cashless, barrierless payment system is in place.
A new-look security hall is fitted out with the latest scanners allowing passengers to leave electronics and liquids (each 100ml) in their hand luggage. The average wait for security for East Midlands customers last year was six minutes 43 seconds, with 99.7% of customers through security in under 15 minutes.
It all means there’s more time to relax ahead of your flight – and there’s better facilities for passengers to do that. This includes new restaurants Terracotta and Alembic, offering tastes from Italy and the Mediterranean that join popular eateries Castle Rock Bar & Kitchen and Pork & Pickle which have undergone refurbishments, along with a new one-stop WHSmith shop that meets all travelling needs, and a new Little Flyers play zone. There’s also extra seating, better wi-fi, water fountains and upgraded toilet facilities throughout the terminal.
And if passengers need a little extra help, East Midlands has got that covered better than most airports. Its assisted travel service provides award-winning one-to-one support to get people effortlessly through the airport and onto their flight. A brand new quiet room is available, as well as a first-of-its-kind sensory pod, for those who need to take themselves away from the hustle and bustle of the departure lounge.
It’s an approach which saw 97% of customers rate the airport good to excellent last year, with 71% saying they would recommend it to friends and family.
East Midlands Airport’s Managing Director Steve Griffiths said: “We’re pleased that growing numbers of people compared to last year are continuing to choose East Midlands for their getaways, as we look towards the half term break.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming them and giving them the chilled-out start to their holidays that they’ve come to expect from us. Not only are we well located and connected, but we’ve completed lots of investment which makes the customer experience even better.”