Flights frequency plea by Birmingham Airport boss
Airlines are to be encouraged to increase the frequency of flights from Birmingham Airport to major destinations like Orlando, Belfast and the Caribbean.
Its chief executive Paul Kehoe has told the Express & Star that 2013 will be a year to show what the airport is capable of as work takes place on a £65 million scheme to extend the runway and an aircraft maintenance hub is being built by airline Monarch’s engineeringcompany, creating 300 jobs.
Mr Kehoe has been trying to convince the Government that its solution to congestion at London’s Heathrow Airport lies in using Birmingham and other regional airports as “hubs” and persuading more operators to base themselves outside of the capital.
But he has said that the key to increasing usage of Birmingham, and to creating more jobs, will lie with the success of the wider West Midlands.
“I’m hoping to see another long-haul route in 2013,” Mr Kehoe said.
“Qatar Airways have said they want to serve Birmingham but haven’t said when. I’m also hopeful of seeing more flights to European cities. Madrid is high on our wish list, as are Prague, Budapest, Toulouse and Lyon.”
The airport is also working to get a flight to Amritsar in India to serve the large Asian population in the West Midlands but a link would depend on the fortunes of Air India.
Mr Kehoe said: “We’ve got people going to see Air India next year but they need financial support from their government, and Air India will also not want to dilute their business at Heathrow.
“We’re promoting the runway extension but it is also very much about selling the economy of the West Midlands.
“Airlines want to see a growing economy so they know they have the business travellers. By the end of 2013 we need to make it clear that Birmingham has a role to play in the national infrastructure and that we are a vital part of it.
“We’re talking to different airlines who already use us.
“We have one flight a week to Orlando in Florida. Other airports have four or five.
“We go to Montego Bay in the Caribbean once a week in the summer and Toronto in Canada once a week. We could handle more flights to Belfast. The challenge in 2013 is to do more with what we have.”
At least they are working hard to get these well-needed routes.