Birmingham Airport has its busiest September, and Jet2 extends Tunisia flights

Birmingham Airport has had its busiest September on record, with 1,386,372 passengers passing through the terminal.

That is 2.9% more than in the same month last year, and follows a record August, when more than 1.57 million people used the airport.

Low-cost flights lead the way

Low-cost airlines were again the main driver of growth. Passenger numbers on low-cost carriers were up 11.4% on September 2025.

The most popular destinations last month were:

• Dublin
• Palma
• Alicante
• Amsterdam
• Malaga

Tunisia through the winter

The figures came in the same week that Jet2 said it would fly from Birmingham to Tunisia for longer than planned, because of strong demand from early bookers.

Flights to Enfidha-Hammamet will now run until 27 November 2027, instead of ending on 30 October, then resume on 12 February 2028 and continue through summer 2028. They will operate twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, covering the October and February half-term breaks. Jet2, the UK's largest tour operator, only added Tunisia to its programme in June, and says extra seats are going on sale because of the response from customers and independent travel agents.

Steve Heapy, Jet2's chief executive, said: "The response to the launch of Tunisia for summer 2027 has been fantastic." He said the extension gave customers across the Midlands "even more opportunities to enjoy everything that Tunisia has to offer".

Matthew Hazelwood, the airport's chief commercial officer, said: "It is encouraging to see the destination thriving as a popular winter sun hotspot among our customers. The additional flights provide a great opportunity for families to enjoy a well-earned break during the school half-term holidays."

Holidaymakers can choose resorts including Hammamet, Yasmine Hammamet, Port el Kantaoui, Sousse, Skanes and Mahdia.

Big plans

The record months come as the airport consults on its draft master plan, which sets out how it hopes to almost double flights from about 100,000 a year to 180,000, and to reach 30 million passengers a year by 2041, without building a second runway.

The plan includes joining the north and south terminals into a single building 60% bigger than today, more stands for aircraft to park overnight, and better public transport links, including a future connection to the HS2 interchange station. The chief executive, Nick Barton, has also said the airport is offering incentives to airlines to start a direct route to New York.

The airport says it already supports about 55,000 jobs and is worth about £3.6bn a year to the regional economy. Residents and businesses can give their views on the master plan through the consultation, which includes public events and an online survey.