RAF Cosford Museum flying high as visitors flood in
The RAF Cosford Museum is on target to have one of its most successful years, thanks to new exhibits and the Battle of Britain.
Figures for the first six months of 2015 show an overall increase in visitor numbers of nearly 6,000 compared to the same period in 2014.
The boost comes as bosses at the Cosford attraction pledged that it would remain free, despite concerns that national museums may start charging.
From January to June this year there have been 201,532 visitors to Cosford. For the same period last year the figure was 195,774, an overall increase of 2.95 per cent.
The most significant increase was in March, when there was nearly a 22 per cent increase in visitors over the same month in 2014.
The only month going against the trend was May, when there were nearly 4,500 fewer visitors than last year.
Visitor numbers for July have yet to be calculated, but are expected to show another increase.
The Battle of Britain anniversary, the ongoing restoration of the Dornier and new Nimrod tours have helped boost numbers.
Michelle Morgans, of RAF Museum Cosford, said: "Since opening up the Nimrod to visitors at the beginning of July, we have seen hundreds of excited members of the public pass through its doors.
"The tours of the aircraft have been hugely popular with visitors and with such high demand we have now added extra dates throughout August, giving even more aviation fans a chance to climb on board.
"If the demand is there, we will continue to add extra dates around holidays and events and looking ahead, we may even be able to replicate the tours for other aircraft in the future."
As well as staple events such as the annual Cosford Air Show, this year has seen several new displays that drew in visitors to the museum.
The 75th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and a World War One exhibition have all created interest as well as work on the German Dornier 17.
There has been debate in recent weeks about the future of free national museums, amid cuts in subsidies.
But Michelle said: "I can confirm that we have no plans to introduce visitor charges – we are a national museum and will continue to offer free entry."
