is there enough demand in the region to have both airports hosting a range of short and long haul destinations by both full service and loco carriers? The answer it would appear is not really - full service congregate (and do well) at BHX whilst loco seems to thrive a lot better at EMA than BHX
This is a fair point gayfriendly. I was in BHX Friday and I felt that the place is majorly underserved in the afternoon/evening at times very few aircraft around, surprising given that Birmingham is the UKs second city. People on my flight that I was chatting to seem to recognise EMA as an alternative LOCO airport, and I fear that the airlines will feel this too. Moreover, BHX will be as aggressive in trying to woo full service airlines and I doubt any of the BHX legacy carriers would be too interested in EMA in these times.
Interestingly, what is the approx annual traffic at BHX?