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REGIONAL AIRPORTS


67% The growth in passenger


numbers Southend Airport is targeting for 2019


SOUTHAMPTON IS ONE OF THOSE HIDDEN GEMS PEOPLE OFTEN OVERLOOK, WITH A STATION AT ONE END OF THE TERMINAL, A LARGE CAR PARK AND FAST SECURITY


believes McGrane. He thinks the trump card that small but efficient regional airports hold is underplayed. “I think they’re missing a trick by not advertising the 30-minute check-in possible versus the couple of hours you need for London and other larger airports.” Southampton, he says, is a case in point: “It’s one of those hidden gems people often overlook, with a station at one end of the terminal, a large car park and fast secu- rity. There are just a couple of places to eat, but it’s pleas- ing, if not pleasurable, to arrive at the airport 45 minutes before departure and know you can get through.” Bournemouth is another favourite: “It’s my go-to for flying up to Scotland, even though I am only a 90-minute drive from Heathrow,” McGrane says.


REGIONALS RECOVER The greatest challenge to regional airports impacted Bir- mingham Airport, which suffered a 4 per cent downturn last year following the Monarch crash in October 2017. “Monarch was our second biggest customer and it took us time to recover and start growing again,” says chief ex- ecutive Nick Barton. But with Jet2, Tui and Thomas Cook picking up most of Monarch’s routes, Barton reports the airport has just enjoyed the biggest January in its history. Now Birmingham, Britain’s seventh largest airport, with the highest percentage of business travel of any beside Heathrow, is forging ahead with an ambitious £500 million masterplan. It is aimed at increasing


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passenger numbers by more than 40 per cent by 2033. One of the first moves will be a bigger departure lounge and more shops, bars and restaurants. A glazed mezza- nine floor will be pushed up through the roof to create the kind of dedicated relaxation area that is an increas- ingly popular feature of international airports. Barton says he sees growth for Birmingham airport, which is 49 per cent owned by surrounding local authori- ties, coming mainly through long-haul traffic to and from the East. “Qatar, Emirates and Turkish Airlines already feed into their hubs from Birmingham, and markets in the Indian subcontinent are important. But we are weaker in the West, and we also need to look towards the US and Canada.”


THE ONLY WAY IS ESSEX


Although coming off a tiny base, Southend airport has even grander hopes of growing passenger numbers by 67 per cent this year; double the growth it achieved last year. The increase was fuelled by a confluence of happy events. “We had Air Malta flying a daily route to Sicily, easyJet basing a fourth aircraft here and a significant increase in traffic from Flybe,” says Glyn Jones, chief ex- ecutive of Stobart Aviation, which owns the Essex airport – now billing itself as the sixth London airport. Airlines are persuaded, with Ryanair opening its first base at Southend in April and Loganair flying in from several Scottish airports. Jones says the private holding


2019 MAY/JUNE 137


THE LURE OF VIP TERMINALS Could dedicated VIP terminals lure aspirational passengers to a regional hub who might other- wise choose to fly from London? Manchester, which is building its own version of Heathrow VIP, has faith in the pulling power of luxury. Of- fering access to all travellers for a £50 fee versus Heathrow’s four-figure charge for a discreet fast-track service not available to Economy pas- sengers, it has democratised the private terminal concept. Premiair, due to open this summer, will offer Manchester a new income stream, but some airport chiefs, including Glyn Jones, chief executive of Stobart Aviation, which operates its own private terminal at London Southend, believes the model may prove unsustainable.


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