Airport pushes on with runway extension bid

Jan 30 2007 By Ben Hurst, Birmingham Mail

BIRMINGHAM International Airport is to press ahead with a full planning application to extend the main runway which would allow jumbo jets to take off.

The 400m extension could mean a big increase in long-haul flights and could be completed in time to benefit from the spin-off from the 2012 London Olympics.

Officials believe it will enable the airport to compete with rivals including Manchester and also the London airports for local travellers, who currently have to go elsewhere. The plans, which were first suggested in 1995, have been backed by business leaders.

According to the airport, there are around nine million people within a one-hour drive of Birmingham International. Of those twho fly, only 44 per cent use BIA primarily because the short runway does not support the demand for long-haul destinations.

Birmingham Airport spokesman John Morris said: "Adding another 400 metres to the main runway will dramatically increase the capability of Birmingham International Airport and the economic fortunes of the region, by providing the opportunity for direct flights to the USA west coast, the Far East and other long-haul destinations."

Research by Loughborough University revealed that Birmingham is connected with only three of the top twenty fastest growing "global cities".