Birmingham Airport ending the year on a high
Birmingham Airport recorded the busiest November in its history last month, with nearly 650,000 passengers passing through the West Midlands' main airport.
That reflected a 10 per cent rise on the same period last year, and with a total of 646,945 passengers, beat its previous record for the month set in 2008 by 4.2 per cent
The Midlands airport looks set to finish the year with another strong performance in December, as approximately 340,000 passengers are expected to travel through Birmingham during the Christmas period – an increase of 7.4 per cent over the same period last year.
Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport's CEO, said: "Following news of yet another positive performance in November, which was our sixth record-breaking month of the year, we're now looking forward to a busy Christmas period.
"The busiest days over the festive period are likely to be Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as people jet off in time for Christmas day, to visit friends and relatives, catch some winter sun or hit the ski slopes.
"The airport will remain open throughout Christmas and New Year, with around 6,400 passengers travelling through on Christmas Day. Flights will be departing to Montego Bay, Istanbul, Dubai, Sharm El Sheikh and Delhi, as well as many other European destinations."
Passengers travelling through Birmingham Airport over the Christmas period are being advised not to take wrapped presents in their hand luggage or take party poppers or Christmas crackers on board. If in doubt, passengers should contact their airline directly for more information.
November's figures also saw a rise in the number of passengers flying on long-haul services from Birmingham, up by three per cent compared to November last year.
Scheduled traffic in November accounted for 88.6 per cent with big increases in passenger numbers to Kaunas in Lithuania, Delihi, Gdansk in Poland, Marrakesh and Hamburg. Charter flights making up the remaining 11.4 per cent and services to Jamaica, Cyprus, Tunisia and Egypt saw significant growth.
November was the sixth record-breaking month for Birmingham Airport in 2014, as April, May, June, July and August also saw records smashed.
