Birmingham International expansion plan does nothing to cool spat with Coventry Airport
01.11.05
Birmingham International Airport's draft masterplan, released yesterday, creates yet more tangles for the relationship between it and Coventry airport. The airports coexist little more than 11 miles apart and, while the burgeoning passenger operation at Coventry is dwarfed by its neighbour by a factor of 10, Coventry is becoming a major stumbling block for Birmingham International.
Since TUI bought Coventry Airport in February 2004, Birmingham International's disquiet has steadily grown. Its concerns are twofold; Coventry operations could constrain airspace when Birmingham expands, plus the existence of an established Coventry Airport harms the business case needed to attract investors to build a second runway.
Birmingham International's proposed second runway, included in the draft masterplan released yesterday, would be roughly at right angles to Coventry's runway. This would create a point at about 3000 feet where aircraft paths would cross. Birmingham is also 'concerned' at the impact of further development at Coventry on its airspace capacity and has consistently objected to recent planning applications for the Coventry passenger terminal developments.
Birmingham's masterplan says: '[Birmingham] airport company is willing to work with Coventry Airport to explore if measures could be put in place to mitigate the airspace impacts of complementary development at Coventry on BIA.'
'However, unless any such practical measures can be identified and implemented with a long-term commitment, further development at Coventry Airport could undermine the airspace capacity, and hence long-term development, of Birmingham International Airport and the associated substantial regional economic benefits.'
Looking at the other problem, the expansion of BIA - despite being approved by the Government's Aviation White Paper in December 2003 - was never going to be easy financially. An expertly-timed press conference (a couple of hours before Transport Secretary Alistair Darling announced the White Paper in the Commons) revealing passenger flights were soon to begin at the freight and private aircraft strip 11 miles away in Baginton immediately made it harder again.
More than half of the air passengers in the West Midlands disappear off to Manchester or London to catch their planes. That untapped demand is the prize on which BIA is basing its case for a second runway. So, it was less than happy when TUI came along and started attracting some of those passengers.
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