Accessible Ground Transportation

Pick-up/drop-off 

Pick-up and drop-off is available at any of the following locations:

Long Stay 2 car park

Free of charge for 60 minutes. Approximately a 10-15 minute walk to the terminal.

Short Stay 1 car park

First 30 minutes free of charge for Blue Badge holders. 296 metre distance from disabled bays to departures. Please present your Blue Badge to the Car Parks Office outside of arrivals. Usual charges apply after initial 30 minutes.

Rapid Drop-Off area

£5 charge for up to 15 minutes and £1 for every minute thereafter. 120 metres from assisted travel desk.

Special assistance is available to and from designated help-points around the airport, including at the above two car parks and at the Rapid Drop-Off area. There is also a transfer bus operating from the terminal to Long Stay 2 from April to September.

Blue Badge parking

Blue Badge parking is available at the following car parks: Short Stay 1, Mid Stay 3, Long Stay 1 and 2, and Meet & Greet.

Further information can be found on our Blue Badge parking page.

Special assistance is available to and from designated help-points around the airport, including at the above five car parks.

Bus and coach transportation

East Midlands Airport is serviced by a variety of bus and coach transportation links. Many of these are serviced by accessible vehicles, and operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. All bus and coach bays are wheelchair accessible. Click here for bus route information. 

Skylink Nottingham - every 20 minutes 

Skylink Derby/ Leicester - every 20 minutes 

Skylink Express - every 30 minutes 

my15 Ilkeston - every 1 hour

The whole Skylink and my15 fleet (operated by Trent Barton) is wheelchair-friendly, and assistance dogs are allowed on the buses free of charge. One wheelchair user can be accommodated on a Skylink bus at any one time. Further information is available here.

Airlink 155 Coalville - every 2 hours 

Certain vehicles in the Airlink 155 fleet (operated by Roberts Coaches) are accessible. Please enquire with Roberts Coaches in advance of travel. Further information is available here. 

Airline 9 Ashby- Every 1 hour (during operating hours).

All Airline 9 buses (operated by Midland Classic) are DDA compliant, and have space for one wheelchair user on board.

National Express - assistance does not need to be booked in advance; however, National Express advises passengers to contact them on 03717 81 81 81 at least 36 hours in advance of travel to enable their team to check that accessible travel can be provided. More information is available here.

For advice on planning your journey, visit Traveline or call 0871 200 22 33.

Special assistance is available to and from designated help-points around the airport, including at the Bus & Coach station.

Taxis

Arrow Cars - the exclusive private hire partner for East Midlands Airport. Arrow Cars can be found in our arrivals building, with exclusive pick-up and drop-off points. Arrow Cars does not operate wheelchair-accessible vehicles. 

Elite Cars - the exclusive private hire partner for East Midlands Parkway. Elite Cars must be booked in advance by calling 01332 581 581. Elite Cars operates wheelchair-accessible vehicles. 

NG11 Cars – A private hire company based nearby in Clifton, Nottingham. NG11 Cars must be booked in advance by calling 01159 145 145. NG11 Cars operates wheelchair-accessible vehicles.

Taxi operators (except Arrow Cars) will arrange to pick you up or drop you off at a mutually agreeable location. This will often be at our Rapid Drop-Off area, our Short Stay 1 car park, or Long Stay 2 car park. Arrow Cars is the only provider that has exclusive access to a pick-up/drop-off area additional to those areas available to the general public. Please see the section above on pick-up/drop-off for more information.

Other taxi operators with accessible vehicles can be found below, where the relevant councils have this information available:

Nottinghamshire - All

Derbyshire - Amber Valley 

Derbyshire - Chesterfield 

Leicestershire - Harborough 

Leicestershire - Leicester City 

Leicestershire - Hinckley & Bosworth 

Leicestershire - NW Leicestershire

Leicestershire - Charnwood 

Assisted Travel is available to and from designated help-points around the airport, including at the above two car parks, and at the Rapid Drop-Off area by contacting staff at the assisted travel desk.

Rail travel

There are four train stations near East Midlands Airport. Each have a variety of accessibility levels and mobility access. Click the links for more information, or visit our Travel by Train page. 

East Midlands Parkway -Accessible by hourly minibus service from outside the station, or by taxi. 

Derby Train Station - Accessible by Skylink Derby bus, or by taxi. 

Nottingham Train Station - Accessible by Skylink Nottingham bus, or by taxi. 

Long Eaton Train Station - Accessible by Skylink Nottingham bus, or by taxi. 

You can book assistance for your train journey through 'Passenger Assist' by calling 03457125678 (lines open 24 hours), booking online or downloading the 'Passenger Assistance' smartphone app by Transreport.

Flight connections

East Midlands Airport does not have a flight connections facility. If you are connecting to another flight upon arriving to East Midlands Airport by air, you will need to exit the airport through the usual processes, before making your way back over to Departures for check-in and security. Please allow ample time for this. Assisted Travel is available to book with your airline for help with this process.

There are exceptions to the above information in certain situations when you arrive into East Midlands Airport on a domestic service and will be travelling onward on the same aircraft. In this scenario, you may be permitted to remain onboard the aircraft for the duration of the turnaround. Your airline will be able to advise you on this.

Onsite hotels

There are a number of hotels available onsite and in close proximity to the airport. A full list and more information is available here. 

The only hotel that is within walking distance from the terminal is the Jury’s Inn. This hotel is 682 metres from the special assistance desk, and 383 metres from the arrivals area, both via a paved wheelchair-accessible walkway. Further information on walking distances and times available can be found here. 

Other nearby hotels are accessible by car, bus and taxi. The Radisson Blu operates a dedicated demand-responsive pick up service. 

Assisted Travel is available to and from designated help-points around the airport, including at the Bus & Coach station (for the Radisson Blu service) and the Jury’s Inn.