People choosing local airports 'for speed and convenience'

An airport spokeswoman has claimed that many travellers are turning to regional airports to take advantage of a quicker and more convenient service.

A representative for Bournemouth Airport, which belongs to the same operating group as Nottingham/East Midlands Airport, said that passenger figures are consistently increasing at regional hubs and are expected to continue in this trend.

"Certainly at Bournemouth and East Midlands we've seen an increase in passenger figures over the past year or so and our forecasts will obviously continue to grow," she explained.

One of the issues that is causing problems at larger hubs is congestion, the spokeswoman said, a factor that is proving difficult at Heathrow Airport in particular.

"[Bigger] airports are getting quite congested – Heathrow has certainly been very open and said that they're over their capacity," she explained.

"People are choosing…local airports for ease to get there and in terms of ease of check-in and security."

A number of low-cost airlines, such as easyJet and Ryanair, have boosted regional airports by basing their services there, and are expected to continue this investment in the future.