More than 500,000 holidaymakers flew from East Midlands Airport last month, according to latest figures – more than 100,000 up on the same month last year.

Despite heatwaves and deadly wildfires affecting some of Europe’s big holiday destinations, travellers from around the region were keen to get away for a summer break from the Castle Donington airport as it gets back to relative normality following the pandemic lockdowns.

Overall this year, some 2.2 million passengers have travelled through the airport – an increase of more than 370,000 over the same months last year.

Management said passengers cleared security in under 15 minutes this year – compared to the big delays many airports faced in 2022 after cutting their workforce during Covid-19 then finding themselves short-staffed.

They said the August average queue time was 7 mins 40 secs.

In a statement the airport said: “It’s the ease of getting to and through East Midlands Airport that passengers say is one of the key reasons they choose the airport, often willing to travel further so they can enjoy a hassle-free start to their holidays.”

Customer and planning director Mike Grimes said the number of people planning autumn and winter breaks was also growing with the airport projecting to welcome a further 620,000 passengers between September and December, travelling to destinations including Dublin, Carcassonne, Milan and Wroclaw.

Mr Grimes said: “We’ve had another great summer, with growing numbers of people choosing EMA for our fast and friendly service that gets their holiday underway as soon as possible.