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E.Midland
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About East Midlands
The Airport started life with the basic requirements of a£5,850ft runway,
60ft taxiway, new hangar floor and aprons and parking for 850 cars.
Financially it was not an instant success. However the picture quickly
changed with the increased volume of freight traffic soon demanding
further development. In 1970 agreement was reached on creating a new
freight complex and both the runway and the terminal were extended.
Further changes were made as EMA continued to grow. The late 70s saw
another runway extension, soon to be followed by another upgrade for
the terminal building. In 1985, a million passengers passed through
the Airport for the first time and a year later Princess Anne was
opening a £3million terminal extension.
Significant change in the running of the Airport came about in 1987
when it became a public limited company following Government legislation
demanding that local authorities ran the operation as an “arms length”
public sector enterprise.
In 1992 another major terminal extension was proposed but the owning
local authorities, who had eagerly supported all the previous changes
could not fund the development. So in 1993 and in the face of
Government pressure to reduce public spending, the local authority
shareholders took the bold decision to become the first major
regional airport to enter the private sector.
The Airport was purchased for a price of £24.3 million by the National
Express Group, who recognised the superb potential of this growing
regional Airport. During the 8 year period in which they owned EMA
they invested an additional £77 million in the Airport infrastructure
and passenger facilities.
One of the major developments during that period was the completion
of a £20 million runway extension. 600 metres were added to the
existing strip, opening up huge opportunities for the Airport to
be marketed as a long-haul operation. £3.5 million was also invested
in a new air traffic control tower. The second highest in the
country, the tower has been built to serve the needs of the Airport
for the next 50 years.
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