Airport coach link in launch

The first direct coach link between Sandwell and Heathrow Airport will launch on Monday.

Smethwick-based Thandi Coaches is launching a new service to take people straight to the airport without having to travel into Birmingham.

Thandi will be the first Sandwell firm to run public transport directly between the borough and the country's biggest airport.

National Express operates services from Wolverhampton and Birmingham, with a stop on the Sandwell and Birmingham border in Great Barr, but bosses at Thandi say there is a demand for a direct route to operate from Smethwick.

Coaches will also pick passengers up from the Faulkland Street Coach Station in Wolverhampton and Soho Road in Handsworth.

The first coach leaving from the Thandi Coach Station in Alma Street, Smethwick, will depart at 2.30am on Monday, followed by 6am, 8.30am and 2pm.

Special prices throughout the summer holiday include return journeys for £15, which will rise to £32 after the holiday period.

Director Avi Thandi said demand for travel to Heathrow had increased in the area since Air India pulled out of offering direct flights from Birmingham Airport to India last October.