In message , at 10:19:38 on Thu, 29
Sep 2016, Neil Williams remarked:

Like I said, their main problem was tidal flow. I used to fly
regularly from East Midlands to Schiphol, and the 7am flight out was
always packed, but the immediate return leg (about 10am Dutch time)
was virtually empty. As was the inbound flight for the busy 7pm
departure from Schiphol.

That was always going to be the case - BHX and EMA have no appeal for
tourists whatsoever, nor really for incoming business which is highly
London-centric.

It's more a case that the empty flights lose you half a day, getting to
the UK too late for a morning meeting, and leaving the UK too early for
an afternoon meeting. And both (if as they were, used mainly by Brits)
in effect requiring an extra overnight hotel at the Dutch end.

If the morning flight from the UK didn't get in quite so early, it would
encourage more people to fly the evening before and use a hotel for an
early morning start. Which is what I did if the host rather than
attendee.
--
Roland Perry