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The number of people passing through East Midlands Airport last month was 73 per cent of pre-pandemic levels marking what management called the start of a period of recovery following aviation’s most difficult period in its history.

They said some 400,000 customers through the Castle Donington terminal in July, to summer destinations such as Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Faro, Malaga, Tenerife.

It comes following two years of pandemic which grounded passenger flights and at a time when many airports have struggled with staffing levels to get passengers onto and off planes. It also comes as the country faces an unprecedented cost of living crisis.

A spokesman said: “This summer, an average of 15,000 passengers are using the airport each day compared to approximately 4,000 daily passengers in July 2021.

“With two-to-three weeks remaining of the school summer holidays, EMA will welcome similar numbers of passengers in August.

“Monday, August 29 is likely to be the airport’s busiest day of the summer, with 17,000 passengers expected.

“Summer flight schedules continue until the end of October with airlines Ryanair, Jet2.com, TUI, Flybe, Blue Islands and Aurigny providing a choice of more than 50 destinations between them across much of Europe and North Africa.

“Thanks to the progress made with recruitment, the addition of customer service ambassadors and student cadets, and the flexibility of colleagues to cover busy shifts, 99.25 per cent of passengers continue to enjoy the convenience of clearing security within 15 minutes or less.”