Mark has written to the editor of the Telegraph proposing a solution to Britain's airport capacity problem by turning Birmingham Airport into a UK hub airport. The letter was signed by 30 cross party, West Midlands MPs and MEPs, as well as council leaders, chambers of commerce and 39 West Midlands businesses.
Birmingham Airport currently serves 9 million passengers every year but with a spare capacity of 27 million. This means that a runway expansion will allow the airport to serve 36 million passengers per year and provide flights to locations as distant as Brazil and China.
The planned expansion of Heathrow will only meet 7% of the UK's growing passenger needs by 2050. By building a second runway, Birmingham Airport could potentially cater for up to 60m passengers per year and directly create 50,000 new jobs in the region.
The Government's proposed high speed rail link between London and Birmingham will provide trains running at 225mph. This places Birmingham Airport only 45 minutes away from the capital, which is just seven minutes further than Heathrow.
Mark said, "This solution is staring us in the face and we should seize it immediately. With two infrastructure developments - a second runway and a high speed rail link - Birmingham Airport presents the most realistic, responsible, and beneficial solution to the Heathrow problem that has yet been presented.
"Not only would this help ease congestion in the south east, but it would help to spread wealth around the country and set up the Midlands for the expansive boom it so richly deserves. This would be the clearest statement that Birmingham and the West Midlands are open for international business."