Birmingham Airport set to announce major expansion plans

BIRMINGHAM Airport is set to unveil plans to quadruple the amount of passenger traffic using the hub as it looks to capitalise on new expansion and the development of the HS2 high speed rail project.

The airport will outline its plans later today in a new document entitled A Great Airport for a Great City. The strategy will form the basis of the airport’s submission to the Airport Commission, which will determine the future model for the UK’s civil aviation sector.

The airport has been encouraged to be bold in its plans and the strategy is thought to contain plans for both a second runway and new terminal.

Airport chief executive Paul Kehoe will be joined by business and political leaders for the presentation where they will outline how the expansion of the airport will benefit the region’s economy by supplying crucial transport links.

One major strand of the strategy will be to capitalise on the development of HS2.

Plans for the £17bn line include a new station close to the airport and Mr Kehoe said the interchange would provide the airport expansion with critical mass.

He said it would mean that a third of the UK population was within an hour’s commute of the airport, strengthening its claim to have new long haul routes added to its scheduled services.

The extension of the existing runway is currently taking place and should be completed later next year. The lengthened runway will enable the airport to cater for direct long-haul flights to China and the West Coast of the United States.
Not everyone is in favour of the plans.

Green Party politicians in Solihull have said the case for expansion has not been justified as the airport already has spare capacity.