The consultation response (which closed on 20 June), included several requests urging the Government to commit towards formally recognising East Midlands airport’s important national and regional role.
As well as being a short-haul gateway for leisure travel, East Midlands airport is also the UK’s most important airport for dedicated cargo flights. It handles around 1,000 tonnes a day and facilitates approximately £40bn of trade to and from the EU, and is responsible for £10bn of non-EU imports and exports a year.
The next ten years, ahead of the opening of the planned new runway at Heathrow, and beyond to 2050, are deemed critical for the airport as it prepares to meet increased air freight demand.
Karen Smart, the airport’s Managing Director, commented: “In the coming months I want to work with government to develop specific policies that could unlock the growth potential of EMA as a nationally important asset for the UK and its ability to trade globally."