BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT has recorded, in defiance of events, its busiest March ever, with 610,487 travellers passing through its terminals. This represents a 9.1% increase over the same period last year. The airport says that the increased availability of low fares, new routes and more frequencies from Birmingham were the main factors behind the growth overall, although two major sporting events helped to boost numbers during the middle part of the month. The Cheltenham Gold Cup generated a 10% rise in Irish traffic between the 10th and 13th of March, and scheduled international flights carried 9% more passengers between the 12th and 16th due to the World Indoor Athletics Championships which were held in the City. Scheduled traffic overall was up by 9.6%, with international flights experiencing a 6% rise during the month. Travellers on non-EU services rose by 16.7%, and passengers on EU flights grew by 3.6%. Meanwhile, the number of people using domestic services rose by 21.7% and passengers flying to the Indian sub-continent increased by 22%. Scheduled traffic accounted for 76.2% of the total March figure while charter passengers made up the remaining 23.8%. http://www.bhx.co.uk