Birmingham Airport in talks to resume Chinese flights

BIRMINGHAM Airport has confirmed it is in talks with an unnamed airline to resume direct flights to China.

The announcement comes as the airport’s leading rival in Manchester prepares to head to Birmingham for an event promoting its own direct flights to China.

It is not the first time Manchester Airport has come to Birmingham to try and drum up interest for the flights – it carried out a similar exercise last summer, much to the irritation of airport chiefs here.

Manchester’s latest stunt has re-opened old wounds but while Birmingham Airport has refrained from criticising the move in public, privately it is seething about the encroachment.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Birmingham Airport said: “Demand for flights to China from Birmingham is significant driven mainly by the Midlands’ strong trading relationship with China and we are in discussions with a carrier to reinstate services in the future following our successful Beijing operations in 2014 and 2015.

“China is an enormous growth market for the UK with many regions increasing trade with Chinese companies – it’s therefore surprising that another region should need to come to our city to promote its services.”

The event in question has been organised to cash in on Birmingham’s popular celebrations for Chinese New Year.

Representative from carrier Hainan Airlines and Manchester Airport are heading to Birmingham’s House of Fraser department store next week for a celebration to mark Chinese New Year.

Manchester Airport said that currently more than 52,000 people from the West Midlands travelled to China each year but prior to June 2016, were forced to connect via an overseas hub or use a London airport. That changed when Hainan Airlines launched its direct service from Manchester, which flies four times a week to Beijing.

Stephen Turner, Commercial Director at Manchester Airport, said: “Events like this allow us to inform potential passengers and key travel agents about the breadth of our offering to save their customers the time and hassle of using congested airports in the South.

“Our route to Beijing is proving to be incredibly popular with leisure and business passengers alike. The direct access unlocks a whole host of tourist, economic and investment opportunities for people from the West Midlands and China.”

Loic Gao, UK General Manager at Hainan Airlines, said: “Using Manchester Airport, instead of flying indirectly or from London, is a huge advantage for people in the Midlands. Not only does it save time for passengers travelling on holiday or on business, it also gives access to a wealth of economic and investment opportunities with one of the world’s biggest economies.”

Parminder Sahota, Store Manager at House of Fraser Birmingham, said: “Since the launch of the direct route from Manchester we have seen an increase in Chinese tourists visiting Birmingham.  As one of the city’s premium department stores, our extensive brand offering across beauty, fashion, accessories and childrenswear has proved extremely popular with Chinese customers.”

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