LONDON: Birmingham Airport’s flights to the Middle East are running at “virtually full capacity” this summer following the launch and resumption of operations by airlines Saudia, Emirates, and Qatar Airways, BirminghamLive reported on Thursday. The Kingdom’s national airline Saudia launched flights from Birmingham for the first time in July, flying three times a week to Jeddah. The move enables Midlands pilgrims traveling for Hajj and Umrah to benefit from the new route. Emirates resumed its A380 network in July with a regular flight schedule to Dubai after being pulled from BHX during the pandemic. BHX told BirminghamLive that flights to the UAE were practically “fully booked.” Qatar has resumed its daily Doha service to BHX after its operations were suspended in 2020. Connectivity to the Middle East from Birmingham Airport will be “better than ever before,” BHX chiefs told BirminghamLive. The expansion of services has also opened routes to destinations such as Australia and New Zealand.