BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT EXPERIENCES ANOTHER STRONG YEAR
Birmingham Airport experiences another strong year
Birmingham Airport handled almost 12.5 million passengers in 2018 and welcomed additional routes and airlines to its existing offering.
2018 saw a total of 12,443,143 passengers travel through the Airport. The best performing months in comparison to the previous year include October, with a total of 1,141,864 passengers (+6%) – the highest ever recorded passenger figures for the month of October. November, with a total of 822,658 passengers (+7%) and December, with a total of 823,206 passengers (+4%). The busiest period overall in 2018, was August when over 1.3 million passengers were recorded in a single month.
In 2018, 11% of flights departing from the Airport were charter carriers and 89% were scheduled carriers. The top three routes were, Dublin, Amsterdam and Dubai.
Several additional routes were introduced over the course of 2018, including; Amritsar, Agadir, Langkawi, Bodrum, Marsa Alam and Montenegro, in addition to more frequency to Belfast, Geneva and Antalya.
Nick Barton, CEO at Birmingham Airport, said: “Looking back at 2018, the Airport has a lot to be proud of. The primary focus has been to operate a safe, secure and efficient airport, with customers at the heart of all that we do.
“As part of our firm commitment to service last year we made a multi million pound investment to upgrade the Airport facilities and provide more people in the terminal to look after passengers. Changes were made to the security processing area, additional car parking provided, new toilets opened and upgraded flooring and lighting installed, as well as additional shopping and catering facilities. We also welcomed the 178 guestroom Hilton Garden Inn hotel, which opened towards the end of summer.
“The investments across the Airport earned us some worthy recognition. Not only was Birmingham Airport recognised as the best in the UK for airports above 10 million passengers a year by airlines, but it was also ranked second behind only Heathrow Terminal 5 in the Which? report on large UK airports. The recognition didn’t stop there; 2018 also saw Birmingham Airport awarded as the most family friendly airport in the UK and Ireland by Netflights.com – some fantastic acknowledgement of the work undertaken, and something we hope to continue through to 2019.”
In November 2018, the Airport launched its 15-year vision for the future when it published and consulted on its draft Master Plan. This outlines how the Airport will make a self-financed investment of £500 million to improve, modernise and extend facilities, delivering increased capacity for our airline customers as well as enhancing the passenger experience even further.
Nick continued, “The coming year will be a significant period for us as we celebrate our 80th anniversary and commence work on a terminal extension, increasing the size of the departure lounge by 40%. Essential facilities such as toilets, public seating and circulation space will be provided and a glazed mezzanine floor where passengers will be able to enjoy an improved range of bars and restaurants created.”
The last month of 2018 saw a 4% increase in passengers, as 823,206 people travelled through the airport, with significant growth recorded on December 21st where 34,394 passengers (+16.8%) – the busiest day for arrivals and departures.
For more information on the draft Master Plan please visit: www.bhxmasterplan.co.uk