Saturday 31 March 2012 - Austrian Airlines Boeing 737-8Z9 OE-LNT flying in "Star Alliance" colours

Austrian Airlines Boeing 737-8Z9 OE-LNT which is in "Star Alliance" colours operated their weekly
ski IT flight from Innsbruck - this seasonal service finishes on Saturday 14 April 2012

Friday 30 March 2012 - Farnair ATR 72 HB-AFV wears Quikjet India titles

Farnair ATR 72-202 HB-AFV which arrived on Thursday evening
from Graz via Hahn wears Quikjet India titles Photo: Mike Hollick
.

Ruby Star Antonov 12BK EW-275TI which had arrived from Graz
in the early hours of Thursday morning positioned out to Minsk....
.

.... while Ukraine Air Alliance Antonov 12BK UR-CAJ
had earlier positioned out to Paris Le Bourget
.

Turkish Airlines Airbus A321-231 TC-JRS operated
their flight to Istanbul - its first visit to BHX
.

Visitors to the Elmdon apron included Commander 114B N116SB....
.

.... and Grumman American AA-5B Tiger G-BIPV Photos: Mike Hollick

Aegean Airlines to return to Birmingham Airport for the summer 2012 season

Aegean Airlines (A3) will be returning to Birmingham Airport
for the summer 2012 season with a weekly Airbus A320 IT flight
from/to Larnaca on behalf of Olympic Holidays

.
Aegean Airlines last regularly operated into BHX back in 2005
when they used Boeing 737-400's on a weekly IT flight - since
then they have become a mainly scheduled operator with a large
fleet of Airbus's - please see below for the weekly schedule -

.
Aegean Airlines schedule at Birmingham Airport from
Saturday 2 June to 27 October 2012

.
2230/2320 A3 4132/4133 320 from/to Larnaca
- operates weekly on Saturday's - Aegean Airlines

.
Schedule subject to change
.

Thursday 29 March 2012

Turkmenistan Boeing 717 EZ-A106 planned to transit BHX on Monday 2 April 2012‏

The flight is now running late - BHX ETA is 2100
with departure to Kiev now expected at 2200 Monday
.
A Turkmenistan Boeing 717 is expected to transit Birmingham

tomorrow/Monday 2 April 2012 on its way back to Ashgabat....
.
.... it has flown Marana - Dayton this afternoon/Sunday and the
aircraft is now enroute to Goose Bay where it will presumably
nightstop as it did on the way out - it should then continue to
BHX via Keflavik tomorrow/Monday - please see below for the
BHX stopover timings
.
The handling request indicates it should be EZ-A106 - as to what has
happened to EZ-A107 and why it is going back to Turkmenistan!?
.

MONDAY 2 APRIL 2012

.

2100/2200 TUA3210 717 from Keflavik/to Kiev

- ferry flight - aircraft departs in early hours of

Tuesday morning after an extended stopover

.
Day of operation/timings subject to change
as these are ferry flights
.

Sunday 1 April 2012

Thursday 29 March 2012

Hughes 369E G-MUDD was a colourful visitor to the Elmdon apron
Photo: Mike Hollick
.
More photos soon!!

Deputy Prime Minister visits Birmingham Airport‏ to be briefed on Runway Extension

Liberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg,
visited Birmingham Airport on Friday 23 March 2012, to learn
more about the planned runway extension and what it will
mean for local businesses in the area
.
The Deputy Prime Minister was joined by the Liberal Democrat MP
for Solihull, Lorely Burt and Birmingham Council Group Leader
Paul Tilsley, for a whistle stop tour of the airport and a meeting
with local business representatives
.

The aim of the visit was to demonstrate the enormous potential
Birmingham Airport has to grow in the immediate future, as well
as the excellent facilities it already has available to passengers
who fly from Birmingham
.
The Deputy PM was on hand throughout the morning to listen to
plans about the runway extension programme and the A45
Transport Corridor Improvement Scheme, learning more about
how it will benefit passengers and local businesses not only
in the local area, but also across the entire Midlands region
.

Mr Clegg was also told how Birmingham Airport can double the
amount of passengers which currently pass through the terminal
each year to 18 million, and can climb even higher to 36 million
using the existing runway. It is hoped this visit will convince the
Government that Birmingham Airport can provide a credible and
immediate solution to the current aviation crunch, felt especially
in the South East of the UK
.
CEO of Birmingham Airport, Paul Kehoe, said: "We believe that

Government should take a lead in examining what the long-term
aviation solution for UK Plc actually is. This is an issue of economic
development, and the outcome will have a significant impact on the
nature and distribution of the UK economy for decades to come"
.

Friday 23 March 2012

Tower Watch - Monday 26 March 2012 - Sunset over Birmingham Airport!!

The sunsets behind Birmingham Airport's new ATC Tower....
.

.... and then sinks over the Elmdon site

.
Warning - do not look directly into the sun with a camera etc!!
.

Monday 26 March 2012

Saturday 24 March 2012 - Turkmenistan Challenger C-GZQQ visits on delivery flight

Turkmenistan Canadair Challenger 870 C-GZQQ made a transit
stop at Birmingham on its delivery flight from Canada parking
on the Elmdon apron. After refuelling at departed to Kiev

.

Photo: Mike Hollick

Friday 23 March 2012 - Brit Air Canadair CRJ 100 F-GRJQ operates final Lyon service

Brit Air Canadair CRJ 100ER F-GRJU operated the final
Air France service from Lyon bringing to an end a service
that had started back in September 2007
.

Air Contractors ATR 72-202F EI-FXI operated their final FedEx
Feeder service from Paris CDG before it becomes a Boeing 757F
operation on Monday 26 March 2012.... Photo: Ron Kosys
.

.... before positioning out to Edinburgh
.

Farnair ATR 72-201F HB-AFG which had arrived in the early hours
spent the day parked up on the Elmdon apron Photo: Ron Kosys
.

flybe Dash 8Q-402 G-ECOI - the second aircraft to be leased
to Brussels Airlines - made a short appearance outside as it
was moved from Hangar 2 to Hangar 1 Photo: Mike Hollick
.

Ryanair were also preparing for the start of the summer schedules
with a number of early morning departures as their parked aircraft
positioned out - Boeing 737-8AS EI-EVH left for Gerona

Due Birmingham Saturday 24.3.12 - Turkmenistan Canadair Challenger‏

Flight now due at 1930 from Keflavik for
a short stop before continuing to Kiev - aircraft
should park on the Elmdon apron
.
A Turkmenistan Canadair Challenger is planned to be
delivered via Birmingham tomorrow/Saturday....
.
.... the handling request describes it as a Challenger 850
registration ESP024 however the local consensus is it is
most likely to be Canadair Challenger 870EZ-B024!
- all will be confirmed in due course!

.
It is due in at 0635 - when it maybe foggy! - to day stop
with the departure planned at 2035 - i.e. if you are
thinking of visiting Birmingham it should be here all day
so given weather forecast if you are coming any distance
maybe best to wait confirmation of its arrival
.
Please see below for the flight details - and it should
park on the Terminal side of the airport
.

SATURDAY 24 MARCH 2012
.
0635/2035 TUA3212 CRJ from Keflavik/to Kiev - delayed
- delivery flight/day stops at Birmingham
.

Flight details subject to change!!

Thursday 22 March 2012 - the Antonov 12's are coming to Birmingham!!

.

.

Meridian Aviation Antonov 12BP UR-CGW was one of five
Antonov 12's to visit Birmingham today
.
More photos later!!

Winter 2011/12 - The end is nigh!!

Before we look at the summer 2012 schedules in detail it
maybe helpful to note the airline/types that currently operate
to BHX but will not be regular visitors after the weekend
when the clocks change and "summer" begins -
.
Air Contractors - will operate their final FedEx Feeder ATR 72
flight into BHX from Paris CDG on Friday morning with the
service being taken over by the Boeing 757F from Monday
.

Brit Air - will operate their final Canadair CRJ100 service
from Lyon on behalf of Air France on Friday afternoon
.
easyJet and some of the ski charters continue until Easter
with their seasonal programmes coming to an end over the
weekend of 14/15 April 2012 - as is usual most of the S12
Geneva flights will be operated by HB- aircraft
.

As always details interesting movements, one off charters
and planned aircraft allocations will appear at -
.
http://bhxflightguide.blogspot.com/p/due-bhx.html

.

Thursday 22 March 2012

Wednesday 21 March 2012 - flybe Dash 8 G-ECOH now in Brussels Airlines colours!!

flybe Dash 8Q-402 G-ECOH has been painted in Brussels Airlines
colours in preparation for a two year lease - it arrived at BHX last
Saturday after painting at Norwich and has since been in Hangar 2
undergoing pre service checks Photo: Mike Hollick

Tower Watch - Tuesday 20 March 2012

The structure of new ATC Tower is now complete and work
has now started on completing the compound that will
surround it including the installation of the security fencing
.
The Tower still needs to be fitted out with the ATC equipment
after training will become operational in 2013
.

Tuesday 20 March 2012

Birmingham Airport announce preferred contractors for Runway Extension project

John Morris, Head of Government and Industry Affairs for Birmingham Airport,
Geoff Inskip, Chief Executive for Centro, Councillor Mike Whitby, Leader of
Birmingham City Council, Des Steadman, MD Civil Engineering for Volker
Fitzpatrick and Carl Fergusson, Operations Director for Colas

VolkerFitzpatrick and Colas have been announced as the preferred
joint venture contractors for two major Midlands construction
projects – the A45 Transport Corridor Improvement Scheme
and the Runway Extension at Birmingham Airport, following
a competitive tender process run by Birmingham City Council
.
The A45 Transport Corridor Improvement Scheme will improve
the A45 Coventry Road between Damson Parkway and M42
Junction 6. It will reduce congestion, improve safety and
accessibility, and is a major catalyst for investment
.

The estimated commencement date of the A45 Transport
Corridor Improvement Scheme is July 2012, with works
expected to be completed by summer 2013. The estimated
start date for the runway extension scheme is June 2013,
with an operational date of spring 2014, following full
commissioning and flight testing
.

On completion, the 405 metre runway extension will enhance
the Airport’s capability and open up the World to the people
and economy of the Midlands, as well as helping to take
pressure off airports in the overheated South East
.
John Morris, Head of Industry and Government Affairs for
Birmingham Airport said, "By meeting local demand, the
Airport will reduce unnecessary long-distance surface
journeys to other UK airports and generate sustainable
long-term economic growth inside its own local area"

.
Councillor Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City
Council, said, "Birmingham Airport and the A45, which
links Birmingham to Coventry, the motorways and beyond,
are both key strategic components of the entire West
Midlands’ transport infrastructure. Making improvements
and expanding capacity of both the road and airport will
directly benefit the regional economy, encouraging more
inward investment and enhancing our position and ability

to compete on a global scale"
.

At just 2,600 metres, the current runway length restricts
the range of destinations, markets and routes which can
be served directly from the Airport, resulting in thousands
of people each year having to make long surface journeys
to other UK airports outside the Midlands region
.

Whilst the Airport can currently serve short haul and medium
haul routes into the UK and Europe, as well as limited
long-haul routes to the east coast of North America and

the Middle East, thriving business and leisure destinations

further away, such as China, South Africa and the west
coast of America, cannot be reached directly
.
Speaking on behalf of VolkerFitzpatrick and Colas, Des Steadman,
MD of Civil Engineering for VolkerFitzpatrick, said, "We’re
delighted to be chosen as preferred bidder and to be involved
in these projects. Both organisations are pleased to continue

their long standing relationships with the key stakeholders.
We recognise the strategic importance of this significant
infrastructure project to the region and look forward to its
successful delivery"

.

Monday 19 March 2012

Monday 19 March 2012 - FedEx Boeing 757F N916FD arrives for pre service training

FedEx Express Boeing 757-27BF N916FD was an afternoon arrival....
Photo: Paul Sliwinski.... at the end of its delivery flight from Memphis via Newark
.

.... to join the FedEx Express European fleet based at Paris CDG
Photo: Nick Broome.... it parked on Elmdon Stand 504 to allow ground handling training
to take place prior to replacing the Air Contractors ATR 72F on their
nightly service to Paris CDG from Monday 26 March 2012
Photo: Andy Davies
.
More photos coming!!

New Tower - New View!! - Meridian Aviation Antonov 12 UR-DWF lands on Runway 33

Meridian Aviation Antonov An 12BK UR-DWF displays
the precision landing skills of Ukrainian pilots!
.

The aircraft comes over the runway starter strip next to "Echo One"....
.

.... aiming directly for the runway threshold marking
.

.... and touch down on the runway!
.

It then taxy's back park on the Elmdon apron
.

Photos taken from BHX's new ATC Tower
on Thursday 23 February 2012

February 2012 passenger figures at Birmingham

Birmingham Airport handled 531,586 passengers during
February 2012 - a decrease of 0.9% on the previous year
.

2012 is of course a leap year so has an extra day - on an
adjusted/comparable basis the February passengers
are down 3.8% which is in line with recent months
.
Despite the overall total many scheduled routes again
performed well - Istanbul was up 60.7% - but this was
not enough to compensate for the continued fall in
inclusive tour/leisure passengers
.

During February significant growth was achieved on

scheduled flights to destinations such as -

Fuerteventura 145.5%, Istanbul 60.7%, Alicante 34.8%,
Stuttgart 23.4%, Munich 19.7%, Aberdeen 15.0%,
Cork 13.4%, Lyon 12.9% and Faro 10.4%
.

Charter traffic which experience growth included -
Cyprus 40.2%, Italy 27.0% and Barbados 22.1%
.
Scheduled traffic accounted for 85.0% of the total
passenger traffic in February whilst charter passengers
made up the remaining 15.0%
.

Wednesday 14 March 2012

Air Malta to return to Birmingham Airport for the summer 2012 season

Air Malta (KM) will be returning to Birmingham Airport for the
summer 2012 season with a weekly Airbus A320 charter/IT flight
from/to Malta commencing on Tuesday 1 May 2012
.
Commenting on these services, Philip Saunders, Chief
Commercial Officer for Air Malta, said: "These charter flights
increase accessibility to the islands from Birmingham and thus
offer travellers the opportunity to reduce travelling time and costs"
.

"This service was made possible following the support received
from Birmingham Airport as well as from tour operators and
travel trade partners in the area"
.
"This is not the first time that Air Malta has operated flights to
this airport; however such operations further confirm the airline’s
commitment to boost incoming tourism to Malta from the UK
- which is Malta’s primary tourism market. We expect to carry
around 8,000 passengers on these services", added Mr Saunders

.
Martyn Lloyd, Head of Air Service Development for Birmingham
Airport, said: "We’re thrilled to work in partnership with Air Malta
throughout the summer. This announcement is welcome news for
the people of Birmingham and the Midlands, who will benefit from
these new additions to our summer flight schedule"
.
Air Malta offers full services on its charter flights by offering
refreshments, 20Kgs for checked-in baggage and up to 10Kgs
as hand luggage allowance. Flights can also be booked from

the airline’s portal www.airmalta.com
.

Air Malta schedule at Birmingham Airport from Tuesday
1 May 2012 to 23 October 2012-

.
2055/2145 KM5136/5137 320 from/to Malta
- operates weekly on Tuesday's - Air Malta
.

Thursday 8 March 2012