BHX round-up for 2023: Doha, Jeddah, Singapore and more...
Image: @Glenn Eldridge
In this Coronation year when England very nearly won the FIFA Women’s Football World Cup, the return of Qatar Airways was among the highlights for Birmingham Airport (BHX).
The airline came back in the first week of July, following a Covid-induced absence, with its daily Doha services. In the same week, Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier, began operating at BHX, flying three times a week to Jeddah, and Emirates boosted capacity on its twice-daily Dubai service by bringing back its 600-seater A380.
BHX renamed the month ‘Giant July’ to celebrate direct Middle Eastern connectivity being its best-ever thanks to the three Gulf-based carriers’ long-term commitment to the region.
This autumn easyJet announced it was bringing forward the opening of its three-aircraft base at BHX to the middle of March 2024 in a move which will create 100 local jobs. Ryanair confirmed it would increase its BHX-based aircraft from six to seven next summer.
Pegasus, the Turkish carrier, started flights to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçe. Jet2 based a 14th aircraft at BHX and promised a 15th next summer. easyJet Holidays entered the package holiday market, competing against TUI and Jet2 - increasing options for customers while keeping prices affordable.
This month TUI flew the first of its weekly winter flights direct to Singapore, transporting customers sailing on its Marella Discovery cruise ship.
In the 12 months from 1 January 2023, BHX served 11.5m customers. In the financial year ending 31 March 2024, BHX expects to have served around 12m customers, on or near level with pre-pandemic volumes, as it prepares for more than 13m in 2024/25.
Nick Barton, chief executive of BHX, said: “If summer at BHX was all about improved long-haul connectivity, autumn was all about low-cost growth. Both are key to our long-term growth plan as we prepare to serve more than 13 million customers next year.
“In 2024 we look forward to unveiling our +£50m new security hall, which will vastly improve the experience for customers, switching on our new customer website, and generating 20% of our electricity needs from a 12,000-panel solar array currently under construction.”
BHX aims to serve 18m customers and to have become a carbon-net zero airport by 2033. For more information on the £300m investment programme to help make these aims a reality, see BHX’s ‘We’re on our way’ video.
Image: @Glenn Eldridge
In this Coronation year when England very nearly won the FIFA Women’s Football World Cup, the return of Qatar Airways was among the highlights for Birmingham Airport (BHX).
The airline came back in the first week of July, following a Covid-induced absence, with its daily Doha services. In the same week, Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier, began operating at BHX, flying three times a week to Jeddah, and Emirates boosted capacity on its twice-daily Dubai service by bringing back its 600-seater A380.
BHX renamed the month ‘Giant July’ to celebrate direct Middle Eastern connectivity being its best-ever thanks to the three Gulf-based carriers’ long-term commitment to the region.
This autumn easyJet announced it was bringing forward the opening of its three-aircraft base at BHX to the middle of March 2024 in a move which will create 100 local jobs. Ryanair confirmed it would increase its BHX-based aircraft from six to seven next summer.
Pegasus, the Turkish carrier, started flights to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçe. Jet2 based a 14th aircraft at BHX and promised a 15th next summer. easyJet Holidays entered the package holiday market, competing against TUI and Jet2 - increasing options for customers while keeping prices affordable.
This month TUI flew the first of its weekly winter flights direct to Singapore, transporting customers sailing on its Marella Discovery cruise ship.
In the 12 months from 1 January 2023, BHX served 11.5m customers. In the financial year ending 31 March 2024, BHX expects to have served around 12m customers, on or near level with pre-pandemic volumes, as it prepares for more than 13m in 2024/25.
Nick Barton, chief executive of BHX, said: “If summer at BHX was all about improved long-haul connectivity, autumn was all about low-cost growth. Both are key to our long-term growth plan as we prepare to serve more than 13 million customers next year.
“In 2024 we look forward to unveiling our +£50m new security hall, which will vastly improve the experience for customers, switching on our new customer website, and generating 20% of our electricity needs from a 12,000-panel solar array currently under construction.”
BHX aims to serve 18m customers and to have become a carbon-net zero airport by 2033. For more information on the £300m investment programme to help make these aims a reality, see BHX’s ‘We’re on our way’ video.
