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Birmingham Airport announces new flights for Qatar, Emirates and Saudia airlines
An array of new flights will be operating between Birmingham Airport and the Middle East across major airlines. It will include direct flights to Saudi Arabia for the first time.
Emirates flies twice a day to Dubai, and will trumpet the return of its iconic 615-seater A380 “superjumbo” from July 1. Saudia will operate the direct flights to Saudi Arabia, with the first of its thrice-weekly rotations to Jedda, Saudi Arabia’s second city, from July 2.
Qatar Airways will also return following a three-year absence, BirminghamLive reports. There will be daily flights to Doha’s Hamad International from July 6, voted second best airport in the world in the 2023 Skytrax’s rankings.
Read more: Dozens of easyJet jobs at Birmingham Airport as new base will lead to more European routes
Chief Executive of Birmingham Airport, Nick Barton, said: “Direct connectivity with the Middle East has never been better for our business and leisure customers. Emirates, Qatar and Saudia are all major global players connecting BHX directly to their hub airports each with impressive onward networks variously serving Australasia, Africa and the Far East.
“In Birmingham and the West Midlands, Emirates, Qatar and Saudia see what many other global brands see, including Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Accenture and HSBC to name just a few who have recently established headquarters in Birmingham … a British region home to six million people with an economy the size of Hungary’s on a strong trajectory of growth, and future economic potential not yet fully realised.”
Between 2017 to 2022, the West Midlands has attracted 771 foreign direct investment projects, and created more than 28,000 new jobs within the region from FDI. Job creation levels are now at pre-Covid levels, with the growth expected to continue in 2023 and beyond.
“The draw of the West Midlands strengthens further still when one considers the opportunities offered by the new HS2 railway, which, once operational in the early 2030s, will connect London directly to the BHX terminal in a barely conceivable 32 minutes. That’s a game-changer,” Nick added.
Birmingham Airport plays a vital role to the West Midlands economy. In 2022, its economic contribution was £1.5bn, with 30,900 direct and indirect jobs supported. BHX forecasts annual customer numbers to grow from 12 million to 18m by 2033, by which times its GVA will be £2.1bn, with 34,400 jobs supported.
Amongst the customers using the three Middle Eastern airlines at BHX will be students. A study conducted by the Universities UK International and Kaplan International with London Economics revealed that out of the £42bn impact of international students to the UK economy, £3bn is generated in the West Midlands.
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