As night falls most airfields quieten down, but one airport in the United Kingdom is just getting into its stride. Andy Martin visits East Midlands to find out why it is so busy during the hours of darkness.
EAST MIDLANDS
Airport Statistics
IATA code: EMA
ICAO code: EGNX
Location: N52°49.87’ W1°19.67’
Elevation: 306ft
Runway: 09/27 9,491 x 150ft (2,893 x 46m)
Frequencies: Approach 134.175
Tower 124.0
Website: www.eastmidlandsairport.com
This year, East Midlands Airport (EMA) is expected to handle more than 370,000 tonnes of air freight and the value of non-EU shipments is likely to exceed £10bn, all of which will be carried in the holds of dedicated cargo aircraft. It is a remarkable achievement for a facility situated in the middle of a triangle bounded by Derby, Leicester and Nottingham almost 120 miles (193km) north of London.
That throughput puts it firmly in the upper echelons of the United Kingdom cargo league table and is exceeded only by Heathrow where the vast majority of consignments are carried in the underfloor holds of passenger services. Growth at EMA has been consistent over more than three decades, and forecasts suggest that business could almost triple to reach the one million tonnes per annum milestone by 2040.
