Birmingham Airport submits runway plans
Birmingham International Airport has submitted plans for an extended runway that could handle up to 17,000 extra flights a year.
The application calls for the runway to be extended 405m towards the villages of Bickenhill and Hampton-in-Arden.
Bosses said it will help boost the West Midlands economy and allow the airport to cope with an expected growth in passenger numbers.
Plans for a second runway for the airport were scrapped in September.
Managing director Joe Kelly said: "The submission of our planning application to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council represents a major step forward for the airport and the wider region.
"The connectivity that the runway extension could bring is vital for the future economic well being of the region and equally important to further establishing the region on the world stage."
He added: "The support from both a regional and national perspective has facilitated this application, and with the support for the airport's new shareholders we are pleased to have now filed the planning application.
"This will now build upon the earlier process of consultation that the airport has undertaken and we look forward to a response from Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is due course."
The airport hopes the extension will be operating in time for the London Olympic Games in 2012.
