Nottingham East Midlands Airport (EMA)
History, Facts and Overview

(Castle Donington, Derby, England)

Typical of many historic English airports, Nottingham's East Midlands Airport began its life as a base for the Royal Air Force, when it was better known as RAF Castle Donington. In the mid-1960s, the airport was purchased by the regional governments and officially renamed as the East Midlands Airport (EMA). Passengers began using Nottingham Airport in 1965 and due to runway constraints, most flights where short-haul and generally restricted to destinations around the UK.

Cargo flights became increasingly popular and prompted the building of a specific freight compound, along with runway and terminal extensions in the 1970s. By the mid-1980s, Nottingham East Midlands Airport was now serving more than one million passengers every year and was expanded many more times over subsequent years.


More recently in the 1990s, work totalling around £80 million included the building of one of the UK's highest control towers. Further additions at East Midlands Airport featured an enlargement of the arrivals hall and a new pier in 2007.

Airport facilities include duty free and duty paid shopping outlets, a variety of eating establishments, ATMs, and Travelex exchange facilities, as well as telephones, Internet access and an information desk. Car hire is available from a number of reputable companies in the Arrivals Hall of Nottingham East Midlands Airport, while a variety of car parking options are on hand, with around 4,000 spaces in total.