EMA is not a tatty little regional airport or just cargo - the IT traffic in summer is huge!! Check out
http://www.eastmidlandsairport.com/
Airlines/holiday companies include First Choice, Unijet, Airtours, Aspro, JMC.
Charter flights to Florida, Balearics, Spanish Costas, Greek islands, Turkey, Balkans, Cyprus, etc.
Scheduled flights BMI – 14 European destinations, Eastern – Aberdeen, Glasgow & Edinburgh.
You can smell the sun tan lotion as you drive up the M1!! And I bet that aircraft parking, etc, is cheaper than at LHR/LGW.....