Government urged to look again at Birmingham Airport expansion

THE Government is being urged to take a second look at an enlarged Birmingham Airport in preparation for an increase in business once HS2 opens.

Treasury Minister Jim O’Neill is urging new Prime Minister Theresa May to look at a bigger Birmingham Airport as a solution to the over-crowded aviation sector in London and the South East.

The airport will be around 40 minutes from the capital once the £50bn high speed rail line is operational possibly around 2026, making it an important travel option for people in the London area.

It can currently take longer on the underground to get to Heathrow from some parts of London.

Lord O’Neill’s intervention is considered timely as regional business groups have recently called on the Government to use a calmer economy to make clear its plans on public infrastructure development.

The Government has previously placed all its eggs in one basket so far as aviation expansion is concerned by backing recommendations from the airports review carried out by Sir Howard Davis to grow capacity at Heathrow and Gatwick.

Birmingham would seemingly offer a viable alternative.

It currently has unused capacity – although volumes are growing – and has seen month-on-month growth for over a year.

Its extended runway now means the airport can offer carriers direct routes which were potentially unavailable before, such as the West Coast of the United States or China.

Such a move would also bring welcome investment into the airport in terms of jobs.

However, its credibility has received a couple of high-profile setbacks this summer as first Chinese routes were cancelled and then on Friday came the bombshell that American Airlines is to pull out of its service to New York JFK from January.