Tens of thousands of holidaymakers are set to pass through East Midlands Airport over the next two weeks as it gears up for a big post-Covid rush.
Up to 100,000 passengers are expected to use the airport during the February half term weeks, heading out to destinations including the Canaries, Cyprus, the French and Austrian Alps and Poland.
Management said it contrasts sharply with this time last year when the passenger terminal was closed and flights were grounded due a ban on non-essential travel.
Passenger figures will be about 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels, and a big improvement on last summer when they were around a third the pre-Covid average.
From 4am on Friday, anyone who is fully vaccinated will no longer need to take a Covid-19 test to travel back to England or quarantine upon arrival.
The airport is however warning anyone planning to travel overseas to check the Covid requirements where they are heading.
The Castle Donington airport recently advertised for 150 new staff to fill customer-facing roles within its security, car parks and passenger services teams as it expects a busy spring and summer season for passenger travel.
Michael Grimes, its customer services and security director, said they were looking forward to welcoming back passengers over the next couple of weeks.
He said: “For many people this may be the first overseas trip they have taken since the start of the pandemic, and we want the process of travelling through our airport to be as seamless as possible.
“We’re really excited about our peak season which runs from April 1 to the end of October. “Hopefully the airport will resemble more of what it was like pre-Covid.
“We’re working hard to ensure that people’s experience of using East Midlands Airport is really positive, and that we make our customers’ journey as easy as possible, especially as many people won’t have flown for a while.
“Our recruitment drive is underway as we look to increase our workforce in readiness for an influx of happy holiday-makers in the coming weeks and months.”
Airlines serving the airport are flying to more than 30 destinations at the minute including winter sunshine resorts in southern Spain and the Canaries as well as big ski resorts.
Tenerife, Alicante, Lanzarote and Malaga top the list of the most popular destinations while there is also strong demand for trips closer to home in Dublin.
A spokesman said: “The airport hopes that February half-term will mark the start of a sustained period of recovery following two of the most challenging years for the aviation sector.
“If East Midlands hits its target of welcoming three million passengers through the airport this year – that would equate to 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
“This would be a significant improvement on last year when, for much of the peak summer season, passenger levels did not exceed 30 per cent of pre-Covid volumes.”
The airport is hosting a jobs fair between 10am-2pm on Saturday, February 26.
