Birmingham Airport, located in the centre of the UK, will today launch its new runway extension brand at the World Routes 2012 conference in Abu Dhabi, to promote and inform key stakeholders on the development, which will be open in early 2014.
The extended runway of 3003 metres will allow aircraft to fly direct to the Far East, the Americas and South Africa from the Midlands Airport, which serves a catchment of ten million people.
It is a significant milestone, not just for the Airport but for the region and the country as a whole and has the potential to change the game for long haul travel in the UK, cutting thousands of miles in unnecessary surface journeys and helping to alleviate the capacity crisis in the south east.
Paul, Kehoe, the Airport’s CEO, said: “Unlike other UK airports, Birmingham is in a unique position to grow in size straight away. As the debate rolls on over the shape of Britain's future aviation strategy, we could literally double the number of passengers through the airport tomorrow. In a few years time, following the completion of our runway extension, we could handle over 36 million passengers a year.
“Birmingham Airport is in the centre of the UK, with around 10 million people in our catchment area. We are the best connected airport by rail, and have excellent connectivity by road. Already just an hour from central London by rail, soon HS2 will place the airport under 40 minutes away from capital. Birmingham can be the alternative to the congested London Airports and the runway extension will provide global connectivity for the thriving Midlands region,” he added.
The creative for the runway extension brand reflects this, going beyond the extra tarmac that will allow heavier planes carrying more fuel to fly further. It focuses on the ever-expanding horizons that the Airport will offer to airlines, business and leisure travellers alike, who will soon have no need to journey outside the region before their trip can begin.
With its ‘Say hello to even more world’ proposition, the campaign is in keeping with the Airport’s existing identity, while introducing bursts of colour which mirror the exotic destinations that will soon be within reach from Birmingham. It will be executed across a range of media including on and offline advertising, direct marketing, a dedicated micro site, brochure and video.
Birmingham Airport has invested £260 million over the past 10 years, with a further £100 million committed to future development plans, including the runway extension and its associated infrastructure.
Meanwhile, the airport is flying high after figures released this week reveal passenger growth increased by over 9 per cent year-on-year in August. The growth in passenger numbers for the month was higher than at any other UK airport during the same period with one million people passing through the Airport.
The record-breaking month saw an incredible 1,031,259 passengers fly in and out of the Airport, making it the 4thbusiest month in the company’s history. It is also the 9th time the airport has pushed through the one million passenger mark.
“August has been a fantastic month for us in terms of passenger numbers. It is particularly pleasing to learn we were best performing airport in the UK last month, clearly demonstrating there is strong demand to fly from Birmingham," Paul Kehoe explained.
“We have seen encouraging signs particularly from our leisure passengers, who have decided to take advantage of the extra capacity and new routes now served by Monarch, including Barcelona and Nice. Traditional summer sun destinations including Palma, Alicante and Malaga also proved to be tremendously popular last month,” he added.
The airport is now turning its attention to the winter season ahead, making sure it can continue the great results it has achieved this summer. “With new routes planned to commence in the coming months, including the launch of easyJet’s daily service to Belfast International, SAS launching their new route to Stockholm and Ryanair now serving Milan and Krakow, this is great news for our business community and those seeking city breaks,” added Paul Kehoe.
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