Lufthansa has seen a nine per cent rise in passengers from Birmingham – as more people head east to travel west.

The region’s airport was top UK performer for growth for Lufthansa, last year, following an increase of around 21 per cent to an all-time high annual total of over 586,000, boosted by the automotive sector.

That trend continued in the year to August 31 this year, which saw a further nine per cent rise, outperforming the market in Birmingham that has seen the airport grow to serve more than nine million passengers in a year.

UK and Ireland director Christian Schindler said the boost had come from growing traffic to South America and the US, travelling via Frankfurt and Brussels.

He said: “Most of our business is from Birmingham to Europe, that is the biggest portion of traffic, but we are seeing growth from people travelling to the North Atlantic and South Atlantic. It is interesting, because you wouldn’t imagine people travelling in that direction, but we offer very convenient connections.

“We are seeing, for example, growth in flights to Colombia and Brazil, as well as Caracas, and the US across the board.”

Lufthansa offers links to more than 200 countries from Birmingham, and has seen a rise in flights to China in recent years.

This comes against a backdrop of rising demand for flights direct to China from Birmingham – which will become possible with a runway extension, which has been given the green light by the airport’s board.

Mr Schindler said Birmingham had proven a good fit for the carrier, with the growing automotive industry – boosted by a resurgent Jaguar Land Rover – accounting for a rise in business activity.

He said: “For us it is a perfect place. There is a lot of industry around here and it is a very accessible airport by rail and car. Operationally, it is a stable and punctual airport, and we have a very good relationship with the airport.”

However, amid the Davies Commission’s investigation into how to deal with under-capacity in UK airports, Mr Schindler said Birmingham did not offer a solution to problems in London.

He said: “Birmingham can’t take the growth from London, but it can take from the Midlands. That is what we have been seeing in the past few years.”

Lufthansa’s growth comes as Birmingham Airport celebrated passenger numbers rising to nine million in the year to September. That represented two per cent growth and came after more than one million people passed through in August.

Paul Kehoe, chief executive of Birmingham Airport, said: “These passenger figures clearly demonstrate there is strong demand for flights from Birmingham. We’ve seen a period of sustained growth throughout the past 12 months, welcoming nine million passengers to the airport.”

Meanwhile, Lufthansa is switching its flights to Berlin and Hamburg over to its value service Germanwings. It flies to Berlin seven times a week and Hamburg six times a week.