THIS will be the year Birmingham Airport’s runway extension scheme finally gets off the ground, its boss has promised.

Paul Kehoe said everything was in place to get the £65 million project under way this year, allowing bigger, long-range jets to serve the city from as early as 2014.

The long-awaited 1,312ft extension will put the city within a direct flight of emerging markets including China and is expected to create jobs and bring millions of pounds-worth of investment in to the city.

Passengers from the Midlands will also be able to use Birmingham Airport for long-haul trips rather than travel to Heathrow or Manchester to start their holidays.

But Mr Kehoe said the benefits to the region were bigger than the “marginal” financial boost to the airport as a business.

“If we can do it then you start bringing flights in from places like Beijing,” he said. “There’s no doubt about the value of bringing business passengers from places like that because Birmingham would be their first port of call.

“If you fly to Heathrow, you do business in the Thames Valley and it will be the same for Birmingham.

The airport is awaiting confirmation of how the £32 million project to divert the A45 between Birmingham and Coventry will be funded before the runway extension can begin.