Record April for Birmingham Airport

Passenger numbers have soared at Birmingham Airport as it recorded the busiest April in its history, with more than 750,000 passengers passing through the terminal.

The figures are a 16.7 per cent jump on last April and the total, of 758,456 passengers, beats the previous 2009 record by 5.7 per cent.

Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport's chief executive, said: "To record the busiest April in our history is a tremendous achievement. It demonstrates the strong demand that exists for flights to and from Birmingham and the progress we have made over the past 12 months in particular.

"A strong performance in April is the perfect way to enter the summer season, a period which will also see Birmingham become the first UK airport outside of London to offer direct charter flights to China, as well as new flights starting to Porto, Cologne, Florence, Ibiza, Malta and Athens, among others."

The record-breaking month saw a major rise in the number of passengers flying on long-haul services from Birmingham, up by 20.9 per cent compared to April last year.

And airport bosses will be hoping for an even bigger hike in the months to come after its runway extension became operational this spring. The extra 400 metres means aircraft from Birmingham can now reach the Far East and the West Coast of America. Flights to Beijing will start later this summer.

Meanwhile the big winners on scheduled routes in April were Jersey and Fuerteventura – where traffic more than doubled. Charter services to Malta, Portugal and Italy also experienced significant growth.