New service from Birmingham Airport

Passengers travelling through Birmingham Airport will be able to fly to new destinations, it has been reported.

Turkish Airlines has announced it will be commencing routes from Birmingham Airport to Istanbul from December 15th which will be the first direct flights to the country from the midlands region.

Birmingham Airport's business development director Peter Vella told the Birmingham Post: "We can boast having one of Europe's most established and highest quality airlines joining us."

Turkish Airlines director for UK Osman Battal noted that the number of flights could increase as the airline becomes established in the midlands.

"Although we will be launching in December with five weekly flights, we aspire to be operating daily services from Birmingham by summer 2009 and carrying 30,000 of passengers a year by this time," he said.

Birmingham Airport reported a 2.8 per cent increase in passenger numbers for June compared to last years figures.