Regional expansion helps boost travel numbers.
Birmingham Airport has recorded the busiest year in its 77-year history, seeing eleven million passengers travel through the Midlands’ global gateway in the last twelve months. This is just a year after breaking the ten million mark last August.
The eleven-millionth passenger, James Sheffield from Edgbaston in Birmingham, set the milestone on Friday 19th August as he checked in for his United Airlines flight to San Francisco via Newark. He was treated by the Airport to a slap up meal and magnum of champagne.
Mr Sheffield, who was jetting off to visit friends in San Francisco for a week-long holiday, said: “Now that was a check-in with a difference! I wondered what was happening when I arrived at the desk and airport officials approached me, but what a fantastic surprise. It’s kicked off my holiday brilliantly and I look forward to enjoying my huge bottle of champagne with friends when I return.”
Comparing the same period between 2014 and 2015, 10.2% more people have travelled through the Airport, due to airlines increasing capacity and launching new services to and from Birmingham.
The airport has also recorded its busiest single day to date on the 19th August 2016 when 44,767 were recorded – 14.1% more than the last busiest day recorded on the 13th August 2015.
Birmingham Airport’s Chief Executive Officer, Paul Kehoe, said: “Reaching 10 million passengers last August was a big milestone in the airport’s history but reaching 11 million is an absolute game changer. It shows that demand for flying to and from the Midlands is rapidly rising and this is only expected to continue as national and international investment in the region continues and the Midlands Engine powers on.
“We have celebrated a huge amount of accomplishments recently, including welcoming an astonishing thirteen new airlines to the airport, creating an even stronger network of global routes. We now have over 440 direct or one-stop flights globally with 50 airlines and proudly handle the magnificent A380 and Dreamliner aircraft, daily.
“The future is exciting as we focus on the next milestone – twelve million passengers – and we will be working very hard over the next year to deliver even more connectivity for our region’s business and leisure travellers.”
