Birmingham Airport

Birmingham Airport
IATA: BHX – ICAO: EGBB
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Seven Metropolitan Boroughs of West Midlands (49%) Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (48.25%) Employees (2.75%)[1]
Operator	Birmingham Airport Ltd
Serves	Birmingham, United Kingdom
Location	Bickenhill, Solihull, United Kingdom
Hub for	Flybe[2]
Elevation AMSL	341 ft / 104 m
Coordinates	52°27′14″N 001°44′53″W / 52.45389°N 1.74806°W / 52.45389; -1.74806Coordinates: 52°27′14″N 001°44′53″W / 52.45389°N 1.74806°W / 52.45389; -1.74806
Website	birminghamairport.co.uk
Map
EGBB Location in the West Midlands
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 15/33 3,052 10,013 Asphalt
Statistics (2015)
Passengers 10,187,122 Passenger change 14-15 5.0% Aircraft Movements (2015) 98,015 Movements change 14-15 0.7%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[3] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[4]

Birmingham Airport (IATA: BHX, ICAO: EGBB), formerly Birmingham International Airport^[5] is an international airport located 5.5 nautical miles (10.2 km; 6.3 mi) east southeast of Birmingham city centre, at Bickenhill in Solihull, England. It has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P451) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

Passenger throughput in 2015 was over 10.1 million, making Birmingham the seventh busiest UK airport.^[4] The airport offers both domestic flights within the UK, and international flights to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, the Indian subcontinent, North America and the Caribbean. Birmingham Airport is an operating base for Flybe, Monarch, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines, and Thomson Airways. From March 2017 the airport will be a base for Jet2.com.

Location

Birmingham Airport is 5.5 NM (10.2 km; 6.3 mi) east-south-east of Birmingham city centre, in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull. It is bordered by the National Exhibition Centre to the east, Marston Green to the north, Sheldon to the west, and the village of Bickenhill to the south.

It is primarily served by the A45 main road, and is near Junction 6 of the M42 motorway. It is connected by the elevated AirRail Link with Birmingham International railway station on the West Coast Main Line.

The airport's location south-east of the city, plus the only operational runway being north-west – south-east (15/33), means that depending on wind direction, aircraft land or take-off directly over Birmingham. The relatively short north-east – south-west runway (06/24) is not operational, and has been incorporated into the taxiway for aircraft departing the end of runway 33, or gaining access to runway 15.

History

World War II

During World War II the airport was requisitioned by the Air Ministry and was used by the RAF and the Royal Navy as RAF Elmdon, an Elementary Flying School and a base for the Fleet Air Arm. During this time, the original grass strip was replaced by two hard runways: 06/24 at 2,469 feet (753 m) and 15/33 at 4,170 feet (1,271 m).^[6] Avro Lancaster and Stirling bombers manufactured at the Austin Aero Company's shadow factory at Cofton Hackett could not take off from the short runways at Longbridge. Instead they were transported by road, minus the wings that would be attached at Elmdon. They were test flown from the aerodrome, and once declared airworthy they were flown to their operational units. The aerodrome returned to civilian use, though still under government control, on 8 July 1946.

1950 to 2000

During the post-war years, public events, such as air fairs and air races were held on the site. In 1961 an additional terminal building to handle international traffic was opened, called The International Building.^[7] In 1967 the main runway was extended to 7,400 feet (1.4 miles) to allow jet operations, including introducing VC-10 services to New York.

In 1993, the Government limited public sector borrowing. This meant that the airport could only expand by using private sector finance. 51% of the local council shares were sold to restructure the airport into a private sector company, enabling a £260 million restructuring programme to begin in 1997.

2001 to 2010

On 20 October 2003, the Concorde made her final visit to Birmingham Airport on as part of her farewell tour.

In June 2006, a new turnoff from the main runway was completed and saw an improvement in traffic rates on southerly operations, where the only available option for landing traffic had been to travel to the end of the runway to exit.

In November 2007, the airport published a master plan for its development up to 2030, called "Towards 2030: Planning a Sustainable Future for Air Transport in the Midlands".^[8] This sets out details of changes to the terminals, airfield layout and off-site infrastructure. As with all large scale plans, the proposals are controversial, with opposition from environmentalists and local residents. In particular the requirement for a second parallel runway based on projected demand was disputed by opponents. Plans for a 2nd runway on the other side of the M42 and a new terminal building and business park have been published, and they could help to create around 250,000 jobs. It has been estimated that if these plans went ahead, the airport could handle around 70,000,000 passengers annually, and around 500,000 aircraft movements.^[9] In January 2008, the shorter runway (06/24) was decommissioned. It had been used less often due to its short length, noise impact, and its inconvenient position crossing the main runway making it uneconomic to continue operation. The closure also allowed for apron expansion on both sides of the main runway. However it remains open as a taxiway and a helicopter airstrip.^[10] In the same month, plans for the extension of the airport runway and the construction of the new air traffic control tower were submitted to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.

In June 2008, work began on building the new three-storey International Pier. It was officially opened on 9 September 2009. As part of the airport's 70th anniversary, the airport welcomed the Airbus A380 as the first user of the pier. The special service was the first commercial A380 flight in the UK to take place outside London Heathrow Airport. The new pier is a three-storey construction, 240 metres long and 24 metres wide. Departing passengers will be accommodated on the top level, with arriving passengers on the middle level and office accommodation for airline and handling agents on the ground floor. The new facility provides air-bridged aircraft parking for seven wide-bodied aircraft and enough space to serve 13 smaller aircraft at any given time and is capable of accommodating 'next generation' environmentally-efficient wide-bodied aircraft such as the Airbus A380, the Boeing 777 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner which all serve the airport on a daily basis. The new pier also hosts a new lounge for business class Emirates passengers.^[11]

The runway extension plans were approved in March 2009.^[12]

Developments since 2010

An announcement was made in September 2010 that following the merging of Terminals 1 & 2 in 2011, the airport would drop the International from its official name to become Birmingham Airport. At the same time British Airways withdrew their flights and the Eurohub, which is now ground level check in, was transferred to Manchester Airport.^[13] A Midlands-based marketing agency was recruited to "create a new corporate identity that reflects Birmingham Airport's current position in the market place, as well as its future potential". Figures from Birmingham Airport show that 8 million people live within a one hour's drive of the airport, but less than 40% of them use it. It is hoped that the rebrand will make the airport "more visible to the market".^[14] In November 2010, the new name started to be used.^[15] The new logo, interlocking circles in shades of blue, and slogan, "Hello World", were designed to reflect the airport's new positioning as a global travel hub.^[16]

The spectators gallery, 'Aviation Experience', above Terminal 1 closed indefinitely in January 2011^[17] In the same month, the airport merged its two terminals into a single Terminal Building. This involved building two new floors added to the airport's terminals. A new Lower Ground Floor accommodates the new Arrivals and Meet & Greet area. The 3rd floor was built in the Millennium Link and the two terminals to accommodate the new Centralised Security Search area.

On 23 February 2011, it was reported that Birmingham Airport had announced the High Speed 2 extension could be a solution to runway capacity problems in London, citing that will be quicker to get to London from Birmingham than from London Stansted once completed and claimed that the airport had capacity for nine million more passengers.^[18]

Construction of a new control tower for the airport began in July 2011,^[19] to replace the old tower which has stood at the airport since it was opened in 1939.The construction of the new air traffic control tower was completed in March 2012. In Summer 2012, the new air traffic control tower's equipment was installed and testing and training began.

An Olympic ceremony was held at the airport on 23 April 2012. The Olympic rings were unveiled on the tower and could be seen from the A45 road and the main terminal building. This was to commemorate the build-up to the London 2012 Olympic games. These rings were removed once the Olympic Games officially closed, just before 2012 Summer Paralympics began.

In autumn 2012, construction of the runway extension began,^[20] whose original target was in time for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics).^[21] The extension to the southern end of the runway originally required the A45 Coventry Road to be diverted into a tunnel under the extended section, but to cut immediate costs, it was diverted south of the runway instead.^[22]

In summer 2013, the new air traffic control tower became fully operational^[19] and also the old carriageway of the A45 road was closed and the new carriageway was opened.^[23][24] In May 2014, the 400-metre runway extension was officially opened.^[20]

The Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan increased its stake in the airport to 48.25% in early 2015. The Canadian institutional investor firm also has ownership in Bristol Airport (100%).^[25] Birmingham handled over 10.1 million passengers in 2015, a record total for the airport making it the seventh busiest UK airport.^[4]

On 27 March 2016, Emirates began daily Airbus A380 flights from Dubai to Birmingham taking the total daily flights to three including two flights operated by Boeing 777-300ER.^[26]

On 28 September 2016, £100 million of investment was given to the airport. The airport plans to put into place a new baggage handling systems, two new car parks including a drop-off car park.^[27]

Facilities and infrastructure

Terminal

Birmingham Airport currently features a single two-storey passenger terminal building. The ground level features 112 check-in counters (numbered 1-82 and 100-130) in two separate areas labelled as Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 as well as the arrivals facilities and several shops, restaurants and service counters. The larger first floor consists of the security areas, check-points and a large airside area equipped with more shops, restaurants and bars that are connected to 48 departure gates in the two separate terminals - gates 1-20 in Terminal 2 and 40-54 and 55-68 in Terminal 1. Terminal 2 features 9 stands equipped with jet-bridges as well as three walk-boarding stands while Terminal 1 features 11 stands with jet-bridges of which some are able to handle wide-body aircraft.

Runway

Plans for the extension of the airport's current runway, and the construction of the new air traffic control tower, were submitted to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in January 2008, and approved in March 2009.^[12] The construction of the runway extension, and the new air traffic control tower, began in March 2011. The extension to the southern end of the runway originally required the A45 Coventry Road to be diverted into a tunnel under the extended section, but to cut costs, it was diverted to the south of the runway. However, plans to build a tunnel under the runways extension are to be met by 2030 when expansion to the south of the current airfield go ahead. In August 2013, the old carriageway of the A45 road was closed, and the new carriageway was opened.^[23][24]

Originally, the target for completion was in time for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics. However, work began in late 2012, and the runway was completed in early May 2014.^[28] The runway extension began to be used by aircraft in May 2014, and was officially opened on 22 July 2014, when China Southern Airlines operated its first charter flight between Birmingham and Beijing. This was the first aircraft that needed to make use of the new runway length.

The extension caused controversy as more than 2,000 local residents complained about the increased noise levels due to the new flight path around the airport that was required after the runway was extended.^[28]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter services to and from Birmingham:^[29]

Airlines	Destinations
Aegean Airlines	Seasonal: Athens
Aer Lingus	Dublin
Aer Lingus Regional operated by Stobart Air	Cork, Dublin, Shannon
Air France	Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Air India	Amritsar, Delhi
Air Malta	Seasonal: Malta
Air Transat	Seasonal: Toronto-Pearson
AlbaStar	Seasonal charter: Palma de Mallorca
American Airlines	New York–JFK (ends 6 January 2017)[30]
Austrian Airlines	Seasonal: Innsbruck
BH Air	Seasonal: Burgas
Blue Air	Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca (begins 16 December 2016),[31] Larnaca (begins 26 March 2017)[32]
Brussels Airlines	Brussels
Brussels Airlines operated by Flybe	Brussels[33]
Cobalt Air	Larnaca (begins 10 December 2016)[34]
Czech Airlines	Prague
easyJet	Belfast-International (ends 24 April 2017)[35] Seasonal: Grenoble
easyJet Switzerland	Seasonal: Geneva
Emirates	Dubai-International
Eurowings	Düsseldorf, Hamburg
Evelop Airlines	Seasonal charter: Palma de Mallorca
Flybe	Aberdeen, Amsterdam, Belfast-City, Berlin-Tegel, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Guernsey, Hannover, Inverness, Jersey, Knock, Luxembourg, Lyon, Milan-Malpensa, Nantes, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Rotterdam, Stuttgart, Toulouse Seasonal: Avignon, Bastia, Bergerac, Biarritz, Bordeaux, Brest, Chambéry, Geneva, Innsbruck, Kefalonia, La Rochelle, Limoges, Newquay, Rennes
Flybe operated by Stobart Air	Isle of Man
FlyOne	Chișinău (begins 6 June 2017)[36]
Iberia Express	Madrid
Icelandair	Reykjavík-Keflavík
Jet2.com	Alicante (begins 31 March 2017),[37] Faro (begins 30 March 2017),[37] Fuerteventura (begins 2 April 2017),[37] Funchal (begins 2 October 2017),[38] Gran Canaria (begins 1 April 2017),[37] Kraków (begins 3 November 2017),[38] Lanzarote (begins 1 April 2017),[37] Málaga (begins 30 March 2017),[37] Palma de Mallorca (begins 31 March 2017),[37] Prague (begins 3 November 2017),[38] Tenerife-South (begins 31 March 2017)[37] Seasonal: Geneva (begins 22 December 2017),[38] Girona (begins 28 April 2017),[37] Grenoble (begins 2 December 2017),[38] Heraklion (begins 30 April 2017),[37] Ibiza (begins 27 April 2017),[37] Menorca (begins 29 April 2017),[37] Paphos (begins 2 April 2017),[37] Reus (begins 29 April 2017),[37] Rhodes (begins 27 April 2017),[37] Salzburg (begins 23 December 2017),[38] Turin (begins 24 December 2017)[38]
KLM	Amsterdam
KLM operated by KLM Cityhopper	Amsterdam
Lufthansa	Frankfurt, Munich
Monarch Airlines	Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gibraltar, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Lisbon, Málaga, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Rome-Fiumicino, Sharm el-Sheikh (suspended), Tenerife-South Seasonal: Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Grenoble, Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck (begins 26 December 2016),[39] Madrid, Menorca, Paphos, Preveza, Salzburg, Stockholm-Arlanda (begins 28 April 2017),[40] Turin, Venice-Marco Polo
Norwegian Air Shuttle	Gran Canaria, Málaga, Tenerife-South Seasonal: Barcelona, Madrid
Pakistan International Airlines	Islamabad
Qatar Airways	Doha
Ryanair	Alicante, Barcelona, Bratislava, Bydgoszcz, Dublin, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gdańsk, Gran Canaria, Katowice, Kraków, Lanzarote, Madrid, Málaga, Malta, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Porto (begins 26 March 2017), Sofia, Tenerife-South, Verona, Vilnius, Warsaw-Modlin Seasonal: Chania (begins 28 March 2017), Corfu, Girona (begins 27 March 2017), Ibiza, Reus (begins 26 March 2017), Perpignan
Scandinavian Airlines	Copenhagen
Small Planet Airlines	Seasonal charter: Ivalo
Swiss International Air Lines operated by Helvetic Airways	Zürich
Swiss International Air Lines operated by Swiss Global Air Lines	Zürich
Thomas Cook Airlines	Alicante, Antalya, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Malaga, Sharm el-Sheikh (resumes 11 April 2017)[41]> Tenerife-South Seasonal: Almería, Banjul, Bodrum, Burgas, Comiso (begins 3 May 2017),[42] Corfu, Enfidha, Grenoble, Heraklion, Hurghada, Ibiza, Izmir, Kalamata, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Malta (begins 4 May 2017),[43] Menorca, Mytilene, Naples (begins 2 May 2017),[43] Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Sal, Salzburg, Santorini, Turin, Zakynthos
Thomson Airways	Alicante, Antalya, Boa Vista, Cancún, Enfidha (suspended), Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Hurghada, Lanzarote, Málaga, Marrakech, Montego Bay, Orlando-Sanford, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Punta Cana, Sal, Sharm el Sheikh (resumes 2 April 2017),[44][45] Tenerife-South Seasonal: Alghero (begins 6 May 2017), Almería (begins 7 May 2017), Barbados, Bodrum, Bourgas, Catania, Chambéry, Chania, Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Enontekiö, Faro, Geneva, Genoa, Girona, Goa (begins 9 November 2017),[44] Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Kavala, Kefalonia, Kittilä, Kos, La Romana (begins 22 November 2017),[44] Larnaca, Menorca, Naples, Phuket (begins 8 November 2017),[44] Porto Santo, Pula, Reus, Rhodes, Rovaniemi, Salzburg, Santorini, Skiathos, Toulouse, Turin, Zakynthos
Titan Airways	Seasonal charter: Chambéry
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul-Atatürk
Turkmenistan Airlines	Ashgabat
United Airlines	Newark
Vueling	Alicante, Barcelona, Málaga, Paris-Orly (begins 26 March 2017), Tenerife-South
Wizz Air	Bucharest, Budapest, Poznań, Sofia, Warsaw-Chopin, Wrocław

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Atlantic Airlines	Isle of Man
BinAir	Bilbao, Cologne/Bonn, Katowice, Porto
FedEx Express	Manchester, Paris-Charles de Gaulle
Nightexpress	Frankfurt

Statistics

Passenger figures

	Number of Passengers[46]	Number of Movements[47]	Birmingham Airport Passenger Totals 2000–2015 (millions)
1997	6,025,485	79,880
1998	6,709,086	88,332
1999	7,013,913	98,749
2000	7,596,893	108,972
2001	7,808,562	111,008
2002	8,027,730	112,284
2003	9,079,172	116,040
2004	8,862,388	109,202
2005	9,381,425	112,963
2006	9,147,384	108,658
2007	9,226,340	114,679
2008	9,627,589	112,227
2009	9,102,899	101,221
2010	8,572,398	95,454
2011	8,616,296	93,145
2012	8,922,539	92,632
2013	9,120,201	95,713
2014	9,705,955	97,346
2015	10,187,122	98,015
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority[4]

Busiest domestic routes

Busiest domestic and Crown dependency routes (2015)^[4]

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% change 2014/15
1	Edinburgh	277,911	02.2
2	Belfast-City	256,023	01.7
3	Glasgow International	226,704	01.2
4	Belfast-International	196,202	09.3
5	Aberdeen	115,812	07.4
6	Jersey	58,735	04.5
7	Isle of Man	42,606	03.9
8	Inverness	41,359	00.3
9	Guernsey	33,746	034.5
10	Newquay	23,659	031.4

Busiest international routes

Busiest international routes (2015)^[4]

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% Change 2014/15
1	Dublin	780,743	018.0
2	Dubai	610,649	015.7
3	Amsterdam	563,915	011.1
4	Paris-Charles de Gaulle	402,975	04.3
5	Frankfurt	314,685	03.9
6	Alicante	301,301	00.2
7	Malaga	290,778	019.7
8	Tenerife South	273,380	01.1
9	Palma de Mallorca	254,763	03.9
10	Düsseldorf	219,051	010.4
11	Lanzarote	218,000	00.0
12	Faro	208,693	02.3
13	Barcelona	193,334	037.7
14	Munich	185,185	04.7
15	Dalaman	170,610	02.6
16	Brussels	143,643	020.0
17	Istanbul	139,296	017.2
18	Delhi	130,092	063.8
19	Sharm el-Sheikh	127,024	06.8
20	Fuerteventura	124,333	09.8

Accidents and incidents

• 19 January 1973 (1973-01-19): A Vickers Viscount passenger jet G-AZLR inbound from Leeds Bradford Airport suffered a severe port undercarriage failure upon landing.^[48]
• 4 January 2002 (2002-01-04): A Bombardier-CL604 business jet crashed on take-off from runway 15 at Birmingham.^[49] The aircraft with registration N90AG was on lease by AGCO corporation and was carrying two company executives, two pilots and an observer. After arriving from Palm Beach International Airport the previous evening, the aircraft was parked overnight at Birmingham where ice formed on the wings due to the cold weather conditions. The following morning the pilots did not request de-icing of the aircraft before their flight to Bangor Airport in Maine. The ice on the wings caused one wing to dip on take off, the aircraft inverted, crashed into grass beside the runway and caught fire. There were no survivors. Sleeping pills taken by both pilots the night before the crash are thought to have been a factor in reducing the pilots' judgment.
• 23 February 2006 (2006-02-23): Mahan Air Airbus A310 operating a flight from Tehran, Iran, was involved in a serious incident while on approach to Birmingham International Airport. The aircraft descended to the published minimum descent altitude of 740 ft despite still being 11 nm from the runway threshold. At a point 6 nm from the runway the aircraft had descended to an altitude of 660 ft, which was 164 ft above ground level. Having noticed the descent profile, Birmingham Air traffic control issued an immediate climb instruction to the aircraft, however, the crew had already commenced a missed approach, having received a GPWS alert. The aircraft was radar vectored for a second approach during which the flight crew again initiated an early descent. On this occasion, the radar controller instructed the crew to maintain their altitude and the crew successfully completed the approach to a safe landing. The accident investigation determined that the primary cause was use of the incorrect DME for the approach, combined with a substantial breakdown in Crew Resource Management. Three safety recommendations were made.^[50]
• 15 June 2006 (2006-06-15): A TNT Airways cargo 737-300 made an emergency landing at Birmingham with damaged landing gear.^[51] The aircraft, registration OO-TND, had been flying from Liege in Belgium to Stansted. Due to poor visibility at Stansted the flight diverted to East Midlands Airport. As the weather at East Midlands was also poor, the aircraft performed a full autopilot approach. During this approach the autopilot momentarily disengaged causing it to deviate from the course. The aircraft hit the grass to the side of the runway, which caused the right main gear to detach. The crew initiated a go-around, declared an emergency and diverted to Birmingham. After it landed on Birmingham's main runway, the airport was closed for a number of hours. The pilots were unharmed.^[52] However, the company ascribed the incident to human error and both pilots were dismissed.^[53] The official report into the accident highlighted a number of factors contributing to the accident – poor weather forecast information; a message passed from Air Traffic Control to the aircraft at an "inappropriate" time; the pilot accidentally disconnecting the autopilot when attempting to respond to the message; the pilot losing "situational awareness" and failing to abort the landing.^[54] Follow this link for a more detailed report and Official reports from the AAIB.^[55]
• 19 November 2010 (2010-11-19): A Cessna Citation aircraft, registration G-VUEM, crashed at Birmingham Airport during final approach in thick fog. Reports from West Midlands Police were that there were two casualties, one critical. The aircraft was bringing a human liver from Belfast airport, for a transplant operation which was subsequently completed successfully.^[56] The airport reopened at around mid-day the following day.

Security incidents

• 6 June 2007 (2007-06-06): The Tonight with Trevor McDonald programme exposed serious security flaws at Birmingham Airport over six months. Fifteen members of staff working for the security contractor "ICTS UK Ltd" were suspended and subsequently dismissed for gross misconduct.^[57] Members of security were filmed asleep on duty, reading magazines whilst operating x-ray scanners, leaving aircraft unguarded, and ignoring bags sent for extra security checks, as well as being understaffed. The security lapse was deemed so serious, that Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the US Congress Homeland Security Committee, commented on it in the United States Congress and advised that all flights to and from Birmingham Airport should cease.^[58] ICTS dismissed the members of staff shown in the programme for their actions, but still claimed that the footage had been "contrived to exaggerate and sensationalise" the issues.^[59]
• 8 June 2009 (2009-06-08): The West Midlands Police helicopter (G-WMAO) was destroyed by arsonists,^[60] and subsequently written off.^[61] A year later, a new Eurocopter EC135 similar to G-WMAO was handed over to West Midlands Police at the Farnborough Airshow. Thousands of pounds have now been spent upgrading security surrounding the new police helicopter.^[62]
• 17 July 2014 (2014-07-17): A member of the public got onto the airfield through a restricted area of the terminal by crawling through the opening of a baggage carousel and getting onto the airport's tarmac apron, and then got aboard a Lufthansa Embraer 195 plane.^[63]

Ground transportation

Public transport

Rail

Birmingham Airport is served by Birmingham International station. The station is on the West Coast Main Line between Birmingham and London, and trains are operated by London Midland, Virgin Trains, Arriva Trains Wales and CrossCountry. Access between the railway station and the airport terminal is provided by the free AirRail Link.^[64]

Proposed High Speed Two

As part of the proposed High Speed Two rail link, a new railway station called Birmingham Interchange would be built to serve both the airport and the National Exhibition Centre. The station would be built on the far side of the M42 motorway and connect to the airport using a "rapid transit people mover". If the project is given the go ahead, High Speed Two is currently planned for completion by 2026.^[65]

Bus and coach

National Express West Midlands operates the main bus routes calling at Birmingham Airport, those being the number 900 to Birmingham city centre and Coventry, and the 966 to Erdington and Solihull. Additionally service 97A to Birmingham via Chelmsley Wood now runs to the airport 24hrs a day.^[66] Other smaller operators also call at the airport. Bus stops are situated outside Terminal One.^[67] Most buses are operated by National Express West Midlands, who do not give change when selling tickets, so foreign travellers will need to ensure they have British coins when taking a local bus. However adult daysavers can be purchased with euros for 5 euros.^[68]

National Express Coaches operate various long distance coaches calling at Birmingham Airport on the way to or from Birmingham Coach Station, such as the 777 and the 422.

Taxi

Black cabs are available at the taxi-rank outside the arrivals area of the terminal.

Car

Birmingham Airport is accessible from the north and south via Junction Six of the M42 motorway. From Birmingham city centre, the A45 runs directly to the airport. There is a drop-off area available outside the terminal; charges apply when parking for more than ten minutes.

Bicycle

The only cycle route available heads south over the A45 travelling towards Solihull. Birmingham Airport have however published "recommended routes" for cyclists.^[69] Free short term cycle parking is available close to the terminal. For longer stays, bicycles must be stored in Left Luggage for a charge.^[70]

See also

• Transport in Birmingham

References

External links

Media related to Birmingham Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Airport Consultative Committee
• Birmingham Airport companies grouped at OpenCorporates
• Opening ceremony, 1939 Pathé Newsreel
• Latest ops reports for EGBB from Aireport