Passenger flights are to resume from East Midlands Airport (EMA) on Sunday.
Budget airline Ryanair will be the first to resume operations from the airport with a limited schedule of flights beginning on Sunday 21 June.
Passengers arriving into EMA at 15:20 from Alicante will be the first to step inside the airport’s terminal since COVID-19 lockdown measures, introduced in March, brought an abrupt halt to non-essential passenger air travel.
The first scheduled departure will be at 15:45 as the same aircraft returns to Alicante.
A total of 16 Ryanair flights to and from EMA are scheduled until the end of June.
Karen Smart, East Midlands Airport’s Managing Director, says: “I am delighted that we will welcome back our first passengers, even if they are few in number, this coming Sunday. This is a really positive development.
“I am confident that many people across the region will start using their local airport again for a quick and easy get-away to their favourite holiday destinations when conditions allow. It may take two to three years before passengers return in the numbers we had pre-COVID, but EMA will always continue to be an important gateway for both people and products.”
The first passenger flights in June will provide an opportunity for both the airline and airport to put in place measures to help make air travel safer for both passengers and airport staff.
