MANC-Y PANKY OVER BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT

26-01-2008

As Solihull Council prepares to debate whether to approve the runway extension at Birmingham Airport, Manchester already has the capacity for long-haul flights – and they’re rubbing our noses in it with a massive advertising campaign around the West Midlands.

Posters promoting the northern airstrip have been popping up on prime advertising sites across the region over recent weeks, reminding us that if we want to make a non-stop, long-distance journey, Manchester can offer much, much more.

Officials at Birmingham Airport probably don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

On the one hand, it sends a timely reminder to the decision-makers that the current flying offer from the region is so limited; on the other, it lets travellers know that they have a decent alternative to BIA less than 100 miles away.

The ad blitz comes as pro-airport campaigners have set up a petition encouraging what they regard as the “silent majority” in favour of expansion to come forward (see link here).