Birmingham Airport - General Thread

[JENNYJET]

There shall be, with certainty, an investigation by HSE and Police into the circumstances of the incident. I am responding based upon very thin information however my thoughts are probably sound at this time.

The legal guardian would have questions to answer, that being the adult under whom the child depends upon care and safety.

I am a qualified Health @ Safety Risk Assessor, together with a thorough grounding in English Law, a skill currently not being employed but one that can save lives and for an enterprise, serious fines by the courts.

How on Jupiter can a child be allowed upon a moving piece of machinery as if in a fair ground? Where are the screens or material guards that prevent incursions by animal life?

Two things come to mind...the 'parental' absence of care and supervision and the absence of Airport monitoring of Human activities in the baggage reclaim facility that may prevent such an incident. It is not all about 'security', safety is more important.

Both aspects are open to legal action and it is likely the Airport company will be hit hardest by the HSE and the carer of the child simply admonished since no apparent injuries or damage has been occasioned.

 

[Jon Dempsey]

Baggage reclaim is my biggest bugbear about Birmingham.
I arrived at about 11 last night on ZB975 and the place was heaving, not only with pax collecting baggage, but also by large piles of unclaimed baggage both by the handling agents' desk and by the oversized baggage belt. There was even a guy dragging items to the area around carousel no. 6, presumably to hide it.

Is it not finally time for the management team to sort out this long-standing issue?

If I were a first-time visitor to the city, what sort of impression would this give of the area as a whole?
I would have though the use of part of the recently paid dividends, i.e. the portion paid to the local councils, would fund at least some of this project.

At the moment, the area is a disgrace.

 

[JF57]

Baggage reclaim is my biggest bugbear about Birmingham.
I arrived at about 11 last night on ZB975 and the place was heaving, not only with pax collecting baggage, but also by large piles of unclaimed baggage both by the handling agents' desk and by the oversized baggage belt. There was even a guy dragging items to the area around carousel no. 6, presumably to hide it.

Is it not finally time for the management team to sort out this long-standing issue?

If I were a first-time visitor to the city, what sort of impression would this give of the area as a whole?
I would have though the use of part of the recently paid dividends, i.e. the portion paid to the local councils, would fund at least some of this project.

At the moment, the area is a disgrace.

Slow baggage service is constant issue on Monarch flights. No one seems to want to sort out issue.

Reclaim area does need a revamp and improvement in efficiency.

 

[andrew.clarkson]

Hi there ray and all, having not flown out of Birmingham Airport for a number of years, due to family and other issues, I would say that if you keep praising the passenger growth at the airport over the last five years plus and not deal with serious issues like to baggaged system, then when passengers do complain hugely about it, they then notify the media, which then doesn't make for good publicity at all, then those passengers then use another airports to fly from causing a concertina effect, so all the hard work of attracting those airlines and passengers, then back fires causing all that hard work to go down the drain, so what Mr Kehoe needs to do straight away is go down himself and look at where the issues are himself, then get those into a room - ie, baggage handlers and then ask why do we have a system in place that's not working. Needs to get it resolved before it becomes a costly excersize that the airport can ill afford to lose.. Andyc

 

[jfy1999]

I think the CEO said in an interview with Airports of the World magazine that updating/replacing the baggage system was the next thing on the agenda after the runway extension.

That was three years ago now. I hate throwing my aviation magazines away

 

[Jon Dempsey]

Hi there ray and all, having not flown out of Birmingham Airport for a number of years, due to family and other issues, I would say that if you keep praising the passenger growth at the airport over the last five years plus and not deal with serious issues like to baggaged system, then when passengers do complain hugely about it, they then notify the media, which then doesn't make for good publicity at all, then those passengers then use another airports to fly from causing a concertina effect, so all the hard work of attracting those airlines and passengers, then back fires causing all that hard work to go down the drain, so what Mr Kehoe needs to do straight away is go down himself and look at where the issues are himself, then get those into a room - ie, baggage handlers and then ask why do we have a system in place that's not working. Needs to get it resolved before it becomes a costly excersize that the airport can ill afford to lose.. Andyc

Andrew,

I'm not berating airport / contracted staff here. It's the infrastructure which needs a complete overhaul.

 

[Ray Finkle]

I think the CEO said in an interview with Airports of the World magazine that updating/replacing the baggage system was the next thing on the agenda after the runway extension.

I believe that the baggage system is currently being replaced but it's quite a lengthy job. I think I heard 18 months mentioned for completion.

Apparently there is to be another belt installed over winter, whether that will be enough remains to be seen.

 

[JENNYJET]

The airport can arrange the purchase and installation of a facility to service A380 somewhat at speed but cannot improve the internal baggage facilities in a similar fashion.

Is there any hope of more A380 services or even B747 or more B777? If the internal facilities cannot manage baggage handling, how can BHX possibly expand services?

In addition, a recent post urged us to desist from negativity to avoid the denegration of BHX and alerting the offline media to a 'story' that need not exist. I agree.

I thought that social media sites were just that..recreational, not for the BBC et al to make mischief by using private thoughts and comments to create a 'Headline' event etc.....

I am somewhat depressed by the slow speed of and lack of communication from the Airport Company.

They trumpet new routes but remain silent if those routes fail to materialize or are withdrawn. What happened to the Biman service to New York?

The China services for 2016 remain perhaps a subject that UK Government have embargoed from the media until discussions have concluded, democratic UK against Communist China...rights to facilitate ease of travel between the two States and upon what VISA classification is to be agreed upon.

We, as a group, are passionate about our airport, not simply as hobbyists but also as passengers to routes that often do not exist.

We use the Airport as and when we can but are often diverted by Travel Agencies to LHR for the destinations we want served at BHX.

My current life dynamics mean that BHX is a hobby and is an academic interest, my traveling days have ceased.

I am now trying to facilitate my return to previous life of witnessing aircraft and smelling AVGAS....it is all dependent upon DWP, the PIP torture and, as a side issue, activating my old Nikon cameras and purchasing the necessary exposure Film to take photographs.

I thank you all and wish you well in your endeavours but please, my friends, do not fret , the best is to come, the Heathrow Chaos shall continue for some years, politics, Law, and God knows what else shall delay that bowl of soup but BHX should wake up and get to work, it is a company and not a Government asset. Opportunities exist to exploit the potential logjam that is LHR.

I can see it, you can see it, why cannot the head honcho see it?

 

[Aceshigh]

It appears government will give MPs free vote on Heathrow. As MPs are unaware of £12,000,000,000 to £18,000,000,000 yes up to £18bn taxpayer exposure / subsidy.

100% Critical that Birmingham fights it's corner.

It may mean swallowing pride and getting together with Manchester and Edinburgh to stop throwing this eyewatering amount of dosh at the S EAST ...Again.

Not one mp appears to be aware on monumental cost.

As Birmingham taxpayers why should we pay for this. ...

 

[Ray Finkle]

Big implications for BHX should it go ahead.

Birmingham has been very vocal in it's opposition (probably as it has most to lose), it would be nice if other regions joined in. As for our local MP's I have little confidence that anything will be done, although I imagine that after the event they'll all be queueing up for air time to scream why, why, why!!!

I hope they prove me wrong.

Squeaky bum time

 

[Jerry]

It depends on the individual MPs. When devolution of APD to Wales was suggested Bristol and South West MPs were very vocal yet Welsh MPs basically didn't give a crap. So i wouldn't be surprised if many MP's from the west midlands or manchester or scotland or wales were not vocal about it unless it became a party thing.

 

[TheLocalYokel]

An enlarged LHR has been sold as benefiting the whole of South West England and South Wales, especially with quicker journeys to London once the GWR electrification is up and running.

How many people have bought this line I don't know but the local press in Bristol, aware that their local airport will never amount to an important long haul player, seems to be in favour. I've not heard any of the local MPs of any party express any firm views. Probably waiting to see what the government decides so they can then take the party lines whether Conservative or Labour - no Lib Dem MPs any more in this part of the world.

 

[Jerry]

An enlarged LHR has been sold as benefiting the whole of South West England and South Wales, especially with quicker journeys to London once the GWR electrification is up and running.

I feel the only way it could benefit the airports of the South West is if there was 3 or 4 daily connection flights to access Heathrow as a hub and provide a better airlink to the London area. But would BHX ever be a candidate for those types of flights?

 

[TheLocalYokel]

I feel the only way it could benefit the airports of the South West is if there was 3 or 4 daily connection flights to access Heathrow as a hub and provide a better airlink to the London area. But would BHX ever be a candidate for those types of flights?

Acting in part as a devil's advocate, does there need to be air connectivity to LHR from such areas as the Midlands, South Wales or the West of England to feed into LHR's routes?

BHX's West Midlands is probably different to the other two areas in that it is far more populous and, in theory at least, capable of benefiting from displaced traffic at a runway-constrained LHR.

CWL is a bit further from LHR than BHX or BRS and there is also the nationalism element, so there might be support in South Wales for a block on building a third LHR runway.

BRS probably has least to gain (of the above three airports) from LHR being constricted because its populace already looks to LHR as its default long haul airport and more people from the South West use it for beginning and ending journeys than any region outside London and the South East (vide CAA surveys, if you put much faith in them following the CAA's abysmal stats-gathering performance in recent months). Any displacement would be unlikely to benefit BRS much and, anyway, some people regard Bristol as an outer extension of London's suburbs: good for business generally but not for its local airport in terms of long haul.

I make these points to show that not every area in the country outside the South East is necessarily opposed to the idea of a third LHR runway.

 

[Aceshigh]

My issue is the cost.

There is talk of £17bn for runway itself paid for by Heathrow BUT a further £5bn based on HAL figures for all the supporting tunnels, railway stations, motorway widening. In effect its yet another investment in the S East !

 

[jfy1999]

Some prominent people in the government are supporting an expansion of BHX – and it's being "taken seriously" according to this Financial Times article.

While Mrs May’s administration believes it is too late for Birmingham to be reintroduced into the debate, some figures argue the airport could be identified for expansion as part of a longer-term airports strategy.

Lord O’Neill, former chief economist at Goldman Sachs, has told Number 10 that opting for a big expansion at Birmingham would send “a massive signal on rebalancing the British economy”, according to officials close to the talks.

The minister’s representations on Birmingham’s future role are being taken seriously in Number 10; Mrs May’s co-chief of staff Nick Timothy hails from the city and wants the government to focus more attention on the Midlands.

But Sir Howard eliminated Birmingham from his review at an early stage, arguing there was “not a strong case for expansion” as an answer to the aviation capacity crunch in London and the south-east.

His commission said in 2013 that Birmingham airport would not be operating at capacity until the mid-2040s and that expanding it would lead to an increase in noise for a relatively high number of people.

But it added that expansion of Birmingham “may merit reconsideration as part of any future assessment of options for a second new runway, particularly as the long-term impacts of HS2 on patterns of travel and aviation become clearer”.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4f8b962a-76a1-11e6-b60a-de4532d5ea35.html?siteedition=uk

 

[Brum X]

Also what the government can do is devolve APD to the West Midlands Combined Authority so that they can determine what this should be from BHX.

 

[JENNYJET]

There is also the probability of a number of senior Government resignations in protest since they represent local constituents and having stood upon a platform that opposes Heathrow expansion. This would put at risk the Government Majority in House of Commons and a General Election. This in turn puts Brexit into Chaos mode and risks an economic collapse for UK and in turn, the health of BHX!!!

 

[Ray Finkle]

A Tweet from Ian Austin.

Ian Austin ‏@IanAustinMP 25m25 minutes ago
Ian Austin Retweeted Adam Tickell

At last! After years of going on about it govt seems finally to realise @bhx_official exists
https://www.ft.com/content/4f8b962a-76a1-11e6-b60a-de4532d5ea35

 

[Brum X]

Expand Gatwick, give them one more runway and expand Birmingham.

PERFECT