Three Gulf airlines have started to operate from Birmingham Airport, all in this first week of July.
(Samaj Weekly)- Saturday (Jul 1) saw the return of Emirates’ A380, the iconic 615-seat double decker. Sunday (Jul 2) marked Saudi’s inaugural flight and Thursday (Jul 6) saw the return of Qatar Airways.
The services are a boost for Birmingham, which is a year ahead of its own projections and back to pre-pandemic annual passenger traffic of 12.5 million. The airport, whose volumes are about half those of Stansted and Manchester, plans to increase traffic by 50% within a decade.
Although Dubai, Doha and Jeddah, the home base of Saudi, may be destinations in themselves for some, it is expected that up to 80% of traffic on the new services will be onward bound to, and from, India, Pakistan, China, Australia and New Zealand.
Birmingham Airport’s CEO, Nick Barton, said: “This is a region home to 6 million people and with 35 million people within two hours’ train journey or drive we are the UK’s best-connected airport.”
Saqib Bhatti, MP for Meriden, the constituency in which BHX sits, said: “I know for many, the journey to Saudi Arabia is a particularly special and meaningful one. So, it is great to see the launch of the new Jeddah service from Birmingham Airport that will serve my constituents, the West Midlands, and the wider region. With greater international routes, Birmingham Airport is cementing itself as a global travel hub, continuing to boost the local economy and increasing the West Midlands’ global reach and connectivity.”
Among the customers using the three Middle Eastern airlines’ BHX services will be students. A recent study jointly published by the Universities UK International, the Higher Education Policy Institute and Kaplan International with London Economics revealed that of the £42bn impact of international students to the UK economy, £3bn is generated in the West Midlands – Britain’s most attractive region for foreign direct investment outside London. In addition, the West Midlands is an economy the size of Hungary’s and on a strong trajectory of growth.
