Walsall Council to loan Birmingham Airport almost £5m

It comes after Birmingham City Council – which along with six other councils is a shareholder of the airport holding company, BAHL – agreed to give a £18.5m loan to the airport following the “most severe downturn in [the airport’s] history”.

Passenger volumes from April to December were down by 91 per cent according to a statement issued by the airport.

Solihull Council has also agreed a loan of up to £3.7 million while Walsall Council will provide up to £4.9 million and other councils remain tighter-lipped.

Sandwell and Wolverhampton councils confirmed they would not be providing loans, while Dudley Council declined to comment.

Coventry City Council said it was “committed to helping the airport” but would not confirm at this stage if a loan was being planned.

Economy

Coventry City Council leader Councillor George Duggins said: “Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Birmingham International Airport remains one of the most important economic drivers in our region and will play a crucial role in our region’s recovery.

“It employs around 7,000 people, supports more than 25,000 associated jobs and is worth around £1.5 billion to our economy, bringing many benefits to Coventry residents and businesses.

“But like the aviation industry as a whole, the global coronavirus pandemic has hit the business hard and it is understandably facing unprecedented and difficult times.

“As one of the seven shareholders in the airport, which has brought us considerable financial dividends to support our services in recent years, we are committed to helping the airport to ensure it is ready to bounce back quickly and strongly when travel restrictions are eventually lifted and life returns to some sort of normality.

“However, if any such support was required, it would go through the council’s political process in the normal way.”