East Midlands Airport (Ema)

East Midlands Airport is an international airport in the East Midlands of England, located in Leicestershire close to Castle Donington. It lies between the cities of Derby (), Nottingham () and Leicester (). EMA has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P520) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction. East Midlands Airport has established itself as a hub for low fare airlines such as Jet2.com and Ryanair and tour operators like Thomson Airways which serve a range of domestic and European short-haul destinations. It is also a base for BMI Regional, Flybe, and Thomas Cook Airlines. Passenger numbers peaked in 2008 at 5.6 million, but had declined to around 4.5 million in 2015 making it the 11th busiest airport in the UK by passenger traffic. A major air cargo hub, it was the second busiest UK airport for freight traffic in 2016 after London Heathrow. The airport is owned by the Manchester Airports Group (MAG), the largest British-owned airport operator which is controlled by the ten metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester with Manchester retaining the controlling stake.