Have to laugh at Paul Keyhole's comments.
"Birmingham is a hidden gem and the missing part in the UK's aviation capacity jigsaw"
Boll*cks.
I have heard Birmingham and Elmdon described as many things, but a "hidden gem" is not one of them.
On our early spotting trips, Elmdon was noted as being not actually an airport, but more like an excuse for one. The Who's 'Let's See Action' was an appropriate theme song for this sleepy backwater.
Latter, at university, a fellow geographer remarked that "If Britain had piles, they would be in Birmingham".
A true statement. Mr. Keyhole is probably aware that the tired motorway system, which enables Birmingham to be by-passed, and exited quickly, is built on piles. Thereby generating that lovely G'Dunk, G'Dunk, G'Dunk, noise as you speed past Fort Dunlop, heading north or south.
If EGBB is such a gem, why are it's air traffic controllers paid less than those at say, Gatwick and Manchester?
Forget Silver-Boris-Foster. Why not develop Shannon into a 6 Runway airport like EHAM?
Loads of space available, part of the UK/Ireland FAB. All traffic from the west could land at EINN, from where Fly(may)be can whisk the pax into the UK regions. Similarly from the east, PAX would land at Clogport, (EHAM, 6 runways there already). Fly(may)be would then whisk punters westward onto the Eurozone offshore islands. Planes from the south would use LFPG. High-speed rail links already in place to Asford and London.
- Just like those innovative Victorians (of which the Transport Munchkin
is a big fan) did with the London Railway Termini, only on a larger scale.