Birmingham Airport has intimated that direct flights to New York could return after United Airlines announced it was scrapping its service.

The US airline announced earlier today it was dropping its direct daily service from Birmingham to Newark from October 5 as the route was performing poorly in financial terms.

But in a statement following United Airlines' announcement, Birmingham Airport said: "We expect to be making an announcement shortly regarding another airline serving North America non-stop from Birmingham, giving passengers additional choice."

The airport added: "We are disappointed by United Airlines' decision after 20 years' service.

"Passengers travelling to North America can continue to fly one-stop with a number of airlines including Aer Lingus which has the added advantage of clearing US customs in Dublin."

The decision by United Airlines comes just six months after American Airlines dropped its service from Birmingham to New York JFK Airport.

A statement from United Airlines said: "We have regretfully taken this decision because of the route's poor financial performance.

"We will contact customers with bookings for flights beyond those dates to provide refunds and re-accommodate where possible.

"We apologise for any inconvenience caused."

It is also understood that the fall of the pound against the dollar after the EU referendum has also played a part.

Three members of staff are now in consultation with the airline over redundancy or redeployment.

It is a major blow to Birmingham Airport, which aims to increase longer-haul flights having spent tens of millions extending its runway.