Birmingham has seen a significant increase in flights and seat supply to the Middle East region over the past weekend. The West Midlands’ main airport has welcomed the arrival of an airline, the resumption of a service suspended since the pandemic and the return of the Airbus A380.
New airline: Saudia
On July 2, Saudia began operations to its fourth UK destination. Flight SV 251 was operated on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which took off King Abdulaziz International Airport (JED) at 08:26 local time and landed at Birmingham Airport (BHX) at 12:24, after five hours and 58 minutes.
Manal Alshehri, Saudia’s Vice President, Passenger Sales, at BHX, said: «We are proud to expand our operations in the UK and continue to regularly offer new destinations to our guests. The UK is a very important destination for SAUDIA, and the launch of new direct flights to and from Birmingham highlights the strengthening of relations between our two countries«.
Saudia flight schedule to Birmingham
- Jeddah – Birmingham Flight SV 251 JED 08:10 – BHX 13:00 Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
- Birmingham – Jeddah Flight SV 250 BHX 14:30 – JED 22:40 Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.
Saudia for the summer season will have an offer of 13,214 seats per week to and from the UK. In addition, the airline has non-stop services to London – Heathrow, London – Gatwick, Manchester and now Birmingham.
Return of Qatar Airways
On July 6, after three years, Qatar Airways resumed operations at Birmingham as part of its recent global expansion. Flight QR 33 was operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, which departed Hamad International Airport (DOH) at 08:39 local time and arrived at Birmingham Airport (BHX) at 13:15, after six hours and 35 minutes.
Nick Barton, Chief Executive of Birmingham Airport, said: «While for some Doha, with its iconic Hamad International Airport, is a destination in its own right, others will be heading to destinations across Qatar Airways’ impressive global network, which includes Australasia, Africa, Asia, North America and South America«.
Flight schedule between Doha (DOH) and Birmingham (BHX)
- Flight QR 35 DOH 02:00 – BHX 07:30 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
- Flight QR 33 DOH 08:05 – BHX 13:15 Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
Flight schedule between Birmingham (BHX) and Doha (DOH)
- Flight QR 36 BHX 09:00 – DOH 17:55 Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
- Flight QR 34 BHX 14:45 – DOH 23:40 Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
In total, Qatar Airways has 65,836 weekly seats on offer to and from the UK for its summer schedule and has non-stop flights to London – Heathrow, London – Gatwick, Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham.
Welcome to Superjumbo
On July 1, Emirates resumed flights with the 615-capacity Airbus A380 at Birmingham, following its last service in March 2020. The company’s first operation with the superjumbo to the West Midlands’ main airport was in 2016.
Richard Jewsbury, Emirates’ UK Divisional Vice President, said: «We are excited about the return of our iconic A380 aircraft to Birmingham. The return will make it easier to connect more passengers to popular long-haul destinations, such as Thailand, Australia and, of course, the vibrant city of Dubai, for the summer and beyond«.
For the summer season, Emirates has scheduled capacity of 125,898 seats per week to and from the UK. The airline operates from Dubai to London – Heathrow, London – Gatwick, London – Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle.
According to data obtained by Aviacionline from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), 836,481 passengers were flown between Birmingham and the Middle East region in 2019.
See also: easyJet to have flights from Birmingham to fifteen new destinations during the summer of 2024
