Birmingham International Airport (BHX)

About Birmingham International Airport

Birmingham International Airport is located 8 miles east of Birmingham City centre, in the borough of Solihull, West Midlands. Birmingham International Airport is the Midlands’ premier gateway to Europe, North America, the Middle East and the Indian Sub-continent. It is the UK’s sixth busiest airport and in 2006 more than 9 million passengers passed through it.

Parking at the Airport

Birmingham International Airport has a new ‘Rapid Drop-Off’ area, which is situated close to Terminals One and Two. It costs £1 for 20 minutes. The ‘Rapid Drop-Off’ area is suitable for those with time-pressures and is intended for drop-off only. For this reason, stays over 20 minutes are charged £3 for each subsequent fifteen minutes. There are ‘free’ drop-off facilities available for passengers who have more time. These are located in the surface Long-Stay car parks and provide up to 60 minutes of free parking. There are regular free buses that transfer passengers between the ‘free’ drop-off area and the Terminals.
All Short-Stay parking and pick-up facilities are located in the Airport’s Multi-Storey car parks, which are all situated within a 2-minute walk from the terminal building.
The Long Stay surface car parks are perfect for any stay for longer than a day. There are regular free buses that transfer passengers between these car parks and the Terminals.

Facilities and Services

Birmingham International Airport has services to over 100 international scheduled and chartered destinations. There are two passenger terminals at Birmingham International Airport that have facilities which include airport information; baby change facilities; Business Lounges; car hire; currency exchange; left luggage; lost property; prayer room and facilities for passengers requiring special assistance.
The terminals also offer a good range of high street retail and catering outlets including Boots; Burger King; Starbucks and WH Smith.
Birmingham International Airport has several exclusive Business Lounges situated in both terminals. In Terminal 1, The Servisair Lounge is available for both business and leisure passengers for a small fee. The lounge offers all of the usual amenities that business travellers may need for them to complete last minute business before boarding their flight. In addition travellers can unwind with a choice of complimentary alcoholic and non-alcoholic refreshments, enjoy a range of snacks and catch-up on the latest news, in a comfortable relaxing environment.
Terminal 2 has two exclusive business lounges. Both situated in the departure lounge, The Flybe Executive Lounge and The 4Deck Lounge for Air France and KLM offer facilities for customers of their respective airlines.

Getting To The Airport

By car - Birmingham International Airport is located at the centre of the national motorway network. The airport is just 8 miles east of Birmingham City Centre and only one mile away from Junction 6 of the M42 from where there are direct connections to the M1, M5, M6, M6 Toll and M40. The airport is signposted from motorways and major roads.
By rail - Birmingham International Airport is located at the centre of the UK’s rail network. The airport’s rail station is called “Birmingham International”. It is on the West Coast Mainline with fast and frequent connections to the rest of the UK. An Air-Rail Link links the rail station to the passenger terminals. This free and frequent service operates between 05:15 and 02:00. The Air-Rail link runs every two minutes and the journey time is less than 2 minutes.
By bus/coach - National Express operates long distance coach services linking the Airport to a number of cities and other airports. Digbeth coach station in Birmingham City Centre is the hub of the National Express network with services to most parts of the UK. Digbeth coach station is about 20 minutes away from the Airport and is easy to reach using National Express services heading from the Airport to Birmingham, or by using local bus service 900, which operates from Stand K.
Local buses link the airport to surrounding districts. These services are provided by a number of operators. All buses stop opposite Terminal 2 at the Bus and Coach Terminus. The main services, routes 900 and 966, operate from early in the morning to late at night but there are no overnight services.

History of Birmingham International Airport

In 1928, Birmingham City Council decided that a municipal airport should serve the city. However the plans were shelved because of the depression. Plans were later revived and Elmdon was identified as the best site. On July 8th 1939, Birmingham Airport was officially opened by HRH the Duchess of Kent. Two months later the Second World War broke out, the Air Ministry requisitioned the airport and all civil flying ended.

During the Second World War, the Air Ministry built two hard surface runways to replace the original grass strip. On 8th July 1946, eight years after the official opening, Birmingham Airport re-opened for civil flying. In 1949, British European Airways started scheduled services from Birmingham to Paris. During the following decade flights to the continent grew steadily and services to Zurich, Dusseldorf, Palma, Amsterdam and Barcelona were introduced.

During the early 1960’s a terminal extension known as the International Building was opened. Towards the end of the decade the main runway was extended allowing turboprops and jets to use the airport. VC10 services began to New York.

By the early 1970s over one million passengers a year were passing through the airport. In 1974, control of the airport passed from Birmingham City Council to the West Midlands County Council.

The new council immediately undertook studies into the expansion of the airport. This study coincided with the rapid growth of passengers and the development of The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) and Birmingham International Rail Station adjacent to the airport. In 1979, following a public enquiry, approval was granted by the Government for a new passenger terminal building and associated facilities.

Construction of the new passenger terminal began in 1981 and was completed in 1984. Her Majesty, The Queen opened the new facilities and operations were transferred to the new passenger terminal. In 1986, ownership of the airport passed to the West Midlands District Joint Airport Committee, a group comprised of seven district councils of the former West Midlands administrative area. In the following year the airport’s status changed to that of a Public Limited Company, wholly owned by the seven district councils. With the end of the decade seeing record growth in passenger figures, the need for further expansion became clear.

In 1991, the £60 million Eurohub was opened by the Duchess of York. It offered passengers a quick and efficient transfer through the airport and gave easy access with British Airways regional services to over 20 European and North American destinations. Birmingham International Airport celebrated its 60th anniversary in 1999 and a record 7 million passengers passed through the Airport’s two terminals.

HM The Queen opened the new Millennium Link block in 2000. Birmingham International Airport’s £11 million Air-Rail Link people mover system and the £7 million public transport Interchange opened in 2003.

Work continues on the expansion programme to improve passenger facilities at Birmingham International Airport. In January 2006, a series of developments were opened in the Terminal One Departure Lounge. Further improvements will include a wider catering choice, more aircraft parking stands, additional check-in desks and a bigger Immigration Hall, all of which should be completed very soon.