Passenger volumes increase 8.5% at Birmingham Airport in February
BIRMINGHAM Airport has seen an 8.5% increase in passenger volumes as the popularity of the hub continues to strengthen.
The airport handled over half a million passengers in February 2014, with Dublin, Dubai and Amsterdam proving to be the most popular destinations.
Some 580,453 passengers used the airport over the 28 days, an 8.5% increase compared to the same month last year.
Scheduled traffic during February increased by 11.9% and nearly 21% of all passengers travelled on a long-haul service.
Paul Kehoe, chief executive of Birmingham Airport, said: “This continued passenger growth demonstrates that more travellers are enjoying the range of services and facilities offered by the airport and the hassle free experience of getting to and through the terminal.”
Scheduled routes that saw the largest growth in February were: Lyon (+2563.6%), Waterford (+301.8%), Chambery (+162.4%), Fuerteventura (+126.5%), Arrecife (+112.9%), Stuttgart (+84.9%) and Funchal (+77.3%), Hanover (+61.2%), Istanbul (+43.4%) and Belfast International (+39.2%).
Charter routes that saw most growth were Portugal (+49.3%), Barbados (+42.9%), Finland (+20%), France (+10.5%), Gambia (+5.6%) and Italy (+4.2%).
Scheduled flights in February accounted for 88.7% of all traffic, with charter flights making up the remaining 11.3%.
Birmingham Airport is the UK’s third largest airport outside London, and the UK’s seventh largest overall, handling some nine million passengers a year. It currently serves 143 direct scheduled and charter routes and offers an additional 279 possible connections worldwide. This gives passengers a choice of 422 direct or one-stop flights.
The extension of the airport’s runway, which is due to open in July, will enable it to serve more long haul flights with flights to China already lined up alongside a new route between New York JFK and Dhaka.
