Birmingham Airport ‘could double passengers without building work’
20.10.09
Birmingham Airport chief executive Paul Kehoe has stepped up his campaign to lure passengers and flights from Heathrow by pointing out that the airport could handle twice as many passengers a year immediately without engaging in any costly building work such as new runways or terminals.
Mr Kehoe hit out at a proposal to build a new London airport in the Thames Estuary – a scheme backed by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson – claiming that it would be far more efficient and less costly to reduce pressure on Heathrow by making more use of facilities already in place at Birmingham Airport. He said the airport could easily cope with nine million more passengers a year – twice the number flying from BIA – without building new terminals or improving the existing infrastructure.
A high-speed rail link between Birmingham Airport and Heathrow would put the midlands airport in an even stronger position. With both Labour and the Conservatives promising to move ahead with high-speed rail, it could eventually be possible to travel between Birmingham Airport and Heathrow in 38 minutes, against up to an hour’s travelling time between Heathrow and the proposed Thames Estuary airport.
Mr Kehoe said: ‘Birmingham is ready to respond to any current or future government initiatives. We already attract passengers from the home counties who choose the convenience, choice and accessibility of Birmingham Airport over other alternatives. We have plenty of capacity.'
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