East Midlands Airport has today revealed it saw its busiest summer since 2008 and is expecting this trend to continue.
Almost three million passengers travelled between May and October, an increase of 10 per cent compared to the same period last year.
August was the busiest month, with passenger figures reaching almost 600,000, 13 per cent higher than August 2012.
Palma, Majorca was the top destination, with almost 290,000 travelling over the summer months, an increase of 15 per cent on 2012, closely followed by Alicante (248,000), Malaga (211,000) and Ibiza (114,000). Faro, Portugal saw 185,000 passengers travelling over the period.
Meanwhile, predicted passenger numbers this winter are set to increase to 1.3 million, 3 per cent higher than winter 2012. Passenger numbers in October totalled 430,000, a 15.5 per cent rise compared to 2012. New winter routes to Prague and Budapest with Jet2.com take the total amount available from East Midlands Airport with the airline to 27.
Andy Cliffe, airport managing director, said: "We have seen steady growth over the course of 2013 and we're delighted with the performance over the summer months.
"The 15 new routes on offer with carriers, Monarch, Jet2.com and Ryanair will have undoubtedly attracted many people to fly from their local airport. However for us, these figures show that we are back on track following the closure of BMI Baby and heading towards recovery from the recession."
BMI Baby, which had operated a number of routes from the airport, was closed by its owner British Airways last year.
Mr Cliffe said: "We're excited about this winter. Our new security search area will be up and running towards the end of the year, signifying the completion of phase one of our terminal redevelopment.
"The new security hall will create more space in a lighter environment, while also allowing us to look at installing new technology that aims to make the passenger journey more efficient. The redevelopment aims to improve the customer experience by creating more space and a more intuitive journey with more shopping and food and beverage options."
