General East Midlands Airport (EMA) Facts
WHERE IS EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT ?
East Midlands Airport is located at Castle Donington in central England just off the M1 Motorway at junction 24. The airport serves the people of Derby, Leicester, Nottingham and Rutland as well as travellers from further away. The official IATA code (the code that appears on luggage destined for East Midlands Airport) is EMA.
OWNERSHIP OF EMA
The airport was originally opened to passengers in 1965 and was owned by a collaboration of local authorities. In 1993 the airport was sold to the coach and train operator, National Express. In 2001, National Express sold the airport to the Manchester Airports Group (MAG). As Manchester Airports Group is actually a holding company for 10 borough councils in Greater Manchester, it appears that ownership has gone full circle, with the airport again owned by local authorities.
RUNWAY AT EAST MIDLANDS AIRPORT
The runway at East Midlands Airport comprises of an asphalt surface and measures 2893 metres in length and 46 metres wide. The runway was only 1780 metres when the airport opened to the public in 1965, but over the years the runway has had 2 major extensions to make its length now longer than the runway at Birmingham Airport (BHX). The runway is now the 6th longest runway in the UK and can now handle long haul flights. The runway is numbered 09 or 27
ICONIC CONTROL TOWER
The iconic control tower at East Midlands Airport is 52.3 metres high and cost 3.5 million pounds (GBP) to construct. The construction of the control tower started in June 1998 and comprises of 750 tons of concrete and is the 2nd tallest control tower in the UK. To reach the top by stairs, you will need to climb 248 of them!
