East Midlands Airport profits down for fourth year

Profits have dropped for the fourth consecutive year at East Midlands Airport but passenger numbers were slightly up, according to a report.

Parent company Manchester Airport Group (Mag)'s annual report said the airport's profits were down by half a million pounds to £6.6m.

It said 4.3 million passengers used the airport in the financial year 2011-12; 200,000 more than the previous year.

Mag said passenger numbers were expected to fall in the short term.

It said Lufthansa's decision to review future options for BMIBaby would have an impact in the short-term, but that agreements with other carriers would offset this from 2013.

Budget airline BMIBaby announced it was to stop eight of its routes from East Midlands Airport to parts of Europe in June.

Chief executive Charlie Cornish said this year had been full of "tough global trading conditions for the aviation sector".