Passenger numbers dip at airport

PASSENGER numbers at Birmingham Airport have dipped in the first three months of 2018, when compared with the same period last year, official figures show.

According to the data, the number of people arriving and departing fell by a little over four per cent in January to March (2,368,000 this year, compared with 2,489,000 in the equivalent period of 2017).

An activities report due to be presented to the airport’s consultative committee on Thursday (May 17) acknowledges that a hole was left by the high-profile collapse of Monarch in October last year.

The low-cost airline, which went into administration following a turbulent few years, had been the airport’s third largest customer, carrying around 1.5 million passengers each year.

The document said that the airport’s aviation development team had been working hard to deal with the spare capacity following Monarch’s demise.

It reported that these efforts had met with “some success”, with other carriers having agreed to increase their programmes from Birmingham Airport.

Jet2.com has announced a focus on Greece during the busy summer period, with the airline adding more than 7,500 seats to the popular holiday destination between July and September.

Meanwhile Primera Air confirmed new winter flights to Tenerife, La Palma, Alicante, Malaga and Reykjavik.

The airport has also reported that load factor – which measures how full the flights are – has increased by more than five per cent. It said this suggests that the aircraft are being used more efficiently than in the past.

The report also provided updates on developments at the airport site.

These range from ongoing work on a covered walkway between the free drop-off area and the terminal, to the installation of electrical air fresheners in toilets, following passenger concerns about “an unpleasant odour” in the public conveniences.

In addition, surveys and assessments continue at the old Elmdon Terminal building, which suffered flood damage following a significant water leak during the severe winter weather in late February and early March.

Concerns about safety prompted a decision to relocate tenants, with the work currently underway assessing the extent of the damage caused by the water.