It is an unassailable fact of life that bean counters rule at BHX
The fundamental problem is that airlines - all airlines, but made worse by the likes of Ryanair - want lower and lower airport charges. If the airport doesn't get as much revenue (and by inference profit) from the charging for the use of the airport by aeroplanes or from directly handling the passengers on those aeroplanes, then the airport has to get the revenue (and thus profit) from elsewhere. What many of these punters who want to fly to where-ever for next to nothing don't realise is that many of them will still end up paying their few pounds more, but it'll be for parking, or for the baggage trolley, or for liquid bags, or higher prices in the airport bars and shops (airports take a % of sales revenue from most tennants) - it just won't be on the headline airfare being charged by Michael O'Riley and his equivalents. Its not really the airport management's fault - they need to make money too - but if passengers were prepared to pay a fair price for their flights (a component of which goes to the airport) then the price of ancilliaries around the airport wouldn't increase so much.
Andy