East Midlands Airport (EMA) has said it is set for the 'busiest weekend since Covid restrictions were lifted'. The airport is preparing for a surge in passengers as schools across Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire and Derbyshire break up for the Easter holidays.
However the Castle Donington-based airport says it "doesn't envisage there being any issues". This is despite widespread delays and cancellations at other UK airports, particularly at its sister airport in Manchester.
It is expected that the airport will see daily departing passenger numbers hit 5,000 for the first time in 2022. 19,200 are expected to pass through departures between Friday, April 8 and Monday, April 11, with 18,800 expected over the Easter weekend.
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EMA is putting in plans to cope with the extra demand, a spokesman told Nottinghamshire Live. "Together with our airline partners, we are putting plans in place to ensure we respond to this extra demand," he said.
"We continue to ask passengers to plan ahead, arrive earlier than perhaps they would have done pre-pandemic, check Covid requirements for the countries to which they are travelling and pack hand luggage sensibly, paying particular attention to rules concerning taking liquids and electronic items through security. It’s also important that passengers keep in touch with their airlines for the latest information about flights times.”
The spokesman added that other airports had experienced a "perfect storm" of a surge in demand, Covid-related absences and difficulties in recruitment.
