Fewer festive flyers from East Midlands
this Christmas the Canary Islands is most popular[December 19th 2008]
The number of people flying away from East Midlands airport over the Christmas and New Year period is expected to be less than last year.
The airport says it anticipates about 160,000 people will be travelling to and from East Midlands between today and Friday January 2nd 2009. Over the same period last year the airport welcomed approximately 170,000 passengers.
The busiest days at East Midlands airport are predicted to be today, Boxing Day, December 27th and January 2nd, with more than 13,000 passengers jetting off on each of these days.
Acknowledging the expected fall in airport passengers this year, East Midlands Airport managing director Penny Coates comments: “These are tough times for everyone and we fully expected a drop in passenger numbers in the short term. Christmas is traditionally a busy time for the airport and although this year we are not seeing the growth in passenger numbers, we are confident about 2009.”
The most popular destination from East Midlands airport this Christmas and New Year is the Canary Islands. The winter sun favourite is closely followed by the ever popular city break destination of Dublin.
East Midlands will have three flights arriving and departing on Christmas Day. All the flights are to winter sun destinations - Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, another Canary Island Lanzarote, and the popular diving holiday destination of Sharm el Sheikh in the Red Sea region of Egypt.
The airport has some sound advice for passengers travelling this Christmas and New Year. “In the run up to the festive period we are asking customers to prepare well in advance and check hand baggage restrictions before arriving at the Airport," says Coates.
Passengers carrying presents in their hand luggage are advised to leave them unwrapped as they may be inspected at airport security. Christmas crackers and party poppers are prohibited items.
"Passengers can reduce stress levels by arriving in plenty of time and checking travel documents before coming to the airport. We recommend that passengers arrive at least two hours prior to departure to allow for poor weather and heavy traffic,” Coates advises.
Written by: Nick Purdom
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