As winter approaches, East Midlands Airport (EMA) will see many leaving these shores for sunnier climes during the October half-term weeks.

More than 156,000 passengers are expected through EMA during the last two weeks of October, with the busiest day being Saturday, October 22.

This coincides with schools across the region breaking up.

 For those yearning summer sun, temperatures in the mid-20s can be found in parts of Europe.

While further south, the days are usually hot in the Canaries and it is a particularly good time of year to swim in the sea, with water temperatures at around 24C.

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

 Mainland Spain and the Spanish Islands continue to be the most popular destinations for travellers who choose EMA.

The top 10 destinations passengers are flying to are:

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• Palma de Mallorca

• Alicante (Spain)

• Faro (Portugal)

• Malaga (Spain)

• Tenerife (Spain)

• Lanzarote (Spain)

• Dublin (Rep. of Ireland)

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• Barcelona (Spain)

• Dalaman (Turkey)

• Menorca (Spain)

 April to October are the busiest months of the year for the EMA passenger operation.

This year, the airport expects to have welcomed more than 2.5million passengers through its doors during this time.

The summer marked a significant step on the road to EMA's recovery following two years of pandemic disruption which grounded passenger air travel.

Last month, passenger numbers were up 425 per cent compared with September 2021.

The airport expects to close this financial year with passenger numbers reaching 75 per cent of pre-Covid levels overall.

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Clare James, East Midlands Airport's Managing Director, said: "We are looking forward to welcoming passengers to EMA at the end of our summer season. For many, this will be their last chance to either top-up tans or grab some last-minute sun in readiness for the darker winter months.

"It's been fantastic to welcome back more than 2.5m passengers during our summer season this year.

"As airlines start their winter flying schedules next month, our attention turns to planning for 2023 by building on what has been a very successful summer for us."