Bosses said this continued the trend set in August after the nationwide security alert and earlier summer drops blamed on the hot British summer and a crash landing that led to runways being closed for more than a day in June.

Now the race is on to turn the fortunes of Birmingham Airport around, with three new aircraft set to join its bmibaby fleet in 2007 and new routes from low-cost carriers flybe and Monarch.

The 945,935 September passengers included 604,046 travelling on scheduled flights and 345,889 charter passengers.

The month saw major growth on its services to the Indian sub-continent, up by 15.5 per cent

The number of passengers travelling to Delhi has doubled in recent months and Birmingham bosses say this reflects the airports increasing attractiveness for long-haul destinations.

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