Birmingham Airport Second Runway Plan Shelved
A plan in which Birmingham International Airport would gain a second runway has, today, been discarded by officials there. The additional runway was needed, they had said, to meet the current forecast for the Midlands hub in which 27 million passengers per annum will be using it by 2030. This represents a tripling of the current passenger level. However, it has now been confirmed that an extension to the present runway is the more viable option, alongside the construction of a third terminal. On this basis, said officials, the option of a second runway won’t be scrapped entirely, but won’t enter the fray for at least 20 years.
The proposal for lengthening Birmingham’s runway and building new passenger space will be submitted later in 2007. It is anticipated that, provisionally, the new/revised facilities will be up and running by the time London hosts the Summer Olympic Games in 2012.
Justifying the decision, Joe Kelly - Birmingham Airport’s Acting Manager – highlighted how the additional flights expected to arrive/depart from the hub would be accommodated as well through the runway extension as they would have been with runway no.2. Additionally, he highlighted the prospect of extra long-haul flights being added to destinations including some within the US.
Regarding those living nearby Birmingham, and who would be potentially affected by the developments, Mr Kelly said consultations would be made. "We will do everything we can and consult with people before we put in the planning application," he stated, adding: ”We will make sure we're aware of all of their concerns.
“The airport has always done that and will always continue to do so."
Birmingham International Airport is currently the UK’s sixth busiest – behind London Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Luton. It received intense media coverage in early summer, when a well known television programme depicted apparent lapses in security there. Employees of the security firm ICTS were seen to be asleep on the job and lax in searching passengers. Birmingham International Airport linked the allegations made solely to the firm involved.
Source – Airport International’s Regional Correspondent
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