Delhi and Birmingham airports sign MOU to strengthen links between the two cities

Delhi and Birmingham airports sign MOU to strengthen links between the two cities IGIAÂ’s third sister airport after Incheon and Sydney

Delhi, September 7th 2013: Following the recent launch of direct flights between Delhi International Airport (India) and Birmingham Airport (UK), the two airports have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize a working relationship and commit to developing links between the two cities even further.

At a ceremony held at the World Routes conference in Las Vegas today (6th Oct), the MOU was signed by Birmingham Airport’s CEO, Paul Kehoe and Delhi International Airport’s Head of Airline Marketing and Route Development, Kiran Jain, and witnessed by a delegation of aviation and tourism leaders, including the Chairman of Visit Britain, Christopher Rodrigues, who joined the airports in support of the partnership.

The MOU, which sees the two airports becoming ‘Sister Airports’, signifies a formal commitment by both parties to work collaboratively in order to strengthen trade and tourism links between the two cities.

Delhi International Airport sees 36 million passengers and well over half a million ton of cargo pass through it annually and is well placed to become the leading hub of South Asia.

Commenting on the occasion DIAL CEO Mr. I Prabhakara Rao said, "It is only through collaboration between our two airports that we have garnered the Delhi Birmingham service on the wings of our national carrier, Air India. The objective of entering into a Sister Airport Agreement is to build mutually cooperative and rewarding relationships among progressive airports. We see it as a stepping stone for the development of IGI Airport as an international air transport hub. It also helps expand air transport networks worldwide and will bring us sustained success."

Located in the centre of the UK, Birmingham Airport handles more than nine million passengers a year and is the third largest airport outside of London. It has a core catchment of ten million people and some 200,000 Indian people live in the West Midlands region alone; 15% of England’s total.

Speaking at the signing in Las Vegas, Paul Kehoe, Birmingham Airport’s CEO, said, "This partnership makes perfect sense because of the strong ties already in place between the Midlands and India and to continue the hard work already done to secure the route. Having this formal arrangement will allow us to share information and best practice to enhance links between Birmingham and Delhi and promote tourism and business opportunities at both ends of the route."

Visit Britain is the national tourism agency, responsible for marketing Britain worldwide and developing Britain’s visitor economy.

Chairman of Visit Britain, Christopher Rodrigues, said, "We fully support this arrangement by Birmingham and Delhi Airports to formalise their working relationship and help share information that will strengthen inbound tourism opportunities to Britain."

Both airports have expansion programmes underway, including a 400m runway extension at Birmingham to allow aircraft to carry more fuel and fly further, plus a longer term vision to become a multi-runway facility capable of handling 70 million passengers a year. Delhi International Airport has commenced on a master plan review that will further enhance its capacities in preparation for the traffic growth.

Air India began four times weekly direct flights between Birmingham Airport and Delhi on 1st August 2013 using a Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

World Routes is an annual conference where airports and tourism bodies meet with airlines to discuss new route opportunities. It attracts 3,000 high profile delegates from more than 100 countries worldwide.

About DIAL

Delhi International Airport (P) Ltd (DIAL) is a joint venture company; comprising the GMR Group, Airports Authority of India, Fraport and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad. The project being developed by DIAL under Public Private Partnership has been given the mandate to finance, design, build, operate and maintain the Delhi Airport for 30 years with an option to extend it by another 30 years.

About Birmingham Airport

• Birmingham Airport is a public/private partnership. The current shareholders include the seven West Midlands district councils (49%), Airport Group Investments Ltd. (AGIL), a limited company owned by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (Teachers’) and Australia’s Victorian Funds Management Corp. (VFMC)(48.25%) and the Employee Share Trust (2.75%).
• Birmingham currently serves 143 direct scheduled & charter routes and offers an additional 279 possible connections worldwide. This gives passengers a choice of 422 direct or one-stop flights.
• Birmingham Airport’s recent infrastructure developments mean that it can accommodate up to 18m passengers a year, today. With the runway extension, this potential increases to 36m by 2030. Its spare capacity and location just an hour from central London, means that Birmingham is set to become an increasingly important resource in the UK to help ease congestion at London Airports. Find out more about Birmingham Airport on Facebook or on Twitter at bhx_official.

About Visit Britain

• A non-departmental public body, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, we work with partners in the UK and overseas to ensure that Britain is marketed in an inspirational and relevant way around the world. Our partners include government agencies such as UKTI and British Council, airlines and operators, global brands such as Samsung and the English Premier League as well as the official tourism bodies for London, England, Scotland and Wales.
• Our priority is to deliver a four-year match-funded global marketing programme which showcases Britain around the world, attracting new visitors from the tourism growth markets of Asia and Latin America and reinvigorating our appeal in core markets such as the USA, France and Germany. This campaign aims to secure an additional ú2 billion in visitor spend