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