England’s Factory Heartland Drives Birmingham Airport Rebound

  • Birmingham Airport chief sees business travel strong next year
  • English hub in talks with Cathay and Finnair for Asia routes
Nick Barton on the tarmac at the airport in Birmingham, UK, on Dec. 21, 2023.Photographer: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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Corporate travel is booming again at Birmingham Airport, in a sign that the midsize family businesses that make up England’s factory heartland are headed back on the road to step up customer outreach.

Business travel at the airport exceeded 100% of 2019 levels in October, Chief Executive Officer Nick Barton said in an interview. The facility is on track to reach about 95% of pre-Covid volume for the full financial year ending in March, he said, in a sign of a strong outlook.