Birmingham Airport unveils second runway plan
A second runway is being proposed for Birmingham Airport.
Airport bosses today said they could potentially handle up to 70 million passengers a year, more than seven times the passengers they currently service.
It would make the airport one of the world's busiest aviation hubs and rival Heathrow – potentially bringing 250,000 jobs to the region.
A new terminal and runway would be built to complement the planned station for the £33 billion high speed rail line HS2, which would connect the airport with London in around 38 minutes.
London Mayor Boris Johnson immediately backed the Birmingham plan, describing it as 'on the button'.
It comes as work is progressing to extend the current runway by 1,328 feet (405m) at a cost of £33 million. The project will mean planes can take off from Birmingham with more fuel and go direct to China, South America, South Africa and the West Coast of the USA and is expected to be complete in early 2014.
The proposals would mean 500,000 planes taking off and landing every year.
The additional jobs would come from the increased number of passengers flying for business, meaning that new companies would be attracted to invest in the region because of good links with trade all over the world.
Birmingham airport chief executive Paul Kehoe said: "Great cities like Birmingham deserve great airports. In twenty years' time British air travel will double and it is widely acknowledged that all the country's long-haul traffic cannot be routed through one airport in West London.
"Instead, we believe that the best thing for UK aviation is to create a network of long-haul national airports, each supporting the comparative economic advantages of that region to boost trade, foreign investment and tourism."
In a document outlining the airport's vision today Mr Kehoe said: "A second runway at Birmingham will support growth of up to 70 million passengers per annum and bring 32,000 people out of night flight noise.
"The new HS2 station/airport terminal will represent an integrated transport hub for the Midlands providing high-speed domestic and long-haul international connectivity for businesses and passengers."
Airport sees 500,000 flights on the horizon - See today's Express & Star
