| Birmingham Airport | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: BHX – ICAO: EGBB | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Birmingham International Airport Ltd | ||
| Serves | Birmingham and the surrounding areas. | ||
| Location | Bickenhill, West Midlands | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 328 ft / 100 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Map | |||
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EGBB
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| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 15/33 | 2,605 | 8,547 | Asphalt |
| Statistics (2010) | |||
| Passengers | 8,572,398 | ||
| Passenger change 09-10 | 5.8% | ||
| Aircraft Movements | 95,454 | ||
| Movements change 09-10 | 5.7% | ||
| Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2] |
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Birmingham Airport (IATA: BHX, ICAO: EGBB), formerly Birmingham International Airport[3] is an airport located 5.5 NM (10.2 km; 6.3 mi) east southeast of Birmingham city centre, at Bickenhill in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull within the West Midlands, England. The airport is a base for Bmibaby, Flybe, Monarch, Ryanair, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways.
The airport offers both domestic flights within the UK, and international flights to destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Pakistan, North America and the Caribbean. After handling a record 9.6 million passengers in 2008, passenger numbers declined to 8,572,398 in 2010, making Birmingham the seventh busiest UK airport.[2]
Birmingham has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P451) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
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Birmingham Airport is situated 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 close to Junction Six 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 orientated (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.
As the airport is located within the Borough of Solihull,[4] all planning applications are reviewed by Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council which is run separately from Birmingham City Council. Due to this, Birmingham has little or no control over planning permission for Birmingham Airport's expansion plans.[5]
Birmingham City Council decided in 1928 that the city required a municipal airport. Delays were caused by the Great Depression, but plans were finally submitted in 1933, identifying Elmdon as the site for the airport. Elmdon Airport was opened on 8 July 1939 by the Duchess of Kent, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark.[6] The airport was owned and operated by Birmingham City Council. Initial services flew to Croydon, Glasgow, Liverpool, Ryde, Shoreham, Manchester and Southampton.
During World War II, the airport was requisitioned by the Air Ministry and was used by the RAF and the Royal Navy as 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).[7] 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 then flown to their operational units. The aerodrome returned to civilian use on 8 July 1946, though still under government control.
During the post-war years, public events, such as air fairs and air races were held on the site. The City of Birmingham took over responsibility again on 1 January 1960 and assumed full responsibility on 1 April 1960.[8] An additional terminal building to handle international traffic was opened in 1961, called The International Building. The main runway was extended to 7,400 feet in 1967 to allow jet operations, including the introduction of VC-10 services to New York. The Birmingham Corporation Act 1970 gave the corporation the power to attest constables for the airport, creating the Birmingham Airport Police. Ownership of the airport passed to the newly-formed West Midlands County Council in 1974.[7]
1984 saw the birth of the current airport. A new terminal was opened on the east side of the runway adjacent to the Birmingham International railway station and the National Exhibition Centre, able to handle three million passengers a year. It was first used on 4 April 1984, and was officially opened by the Queen on 30 May 1984.[9]
The original Art Deco 1939 terminal and control tower are still visible and are in use as aviation related offices, near hangars to the west of the runway.
Take Off, a sculpture by the Polish artist Walenty Pytel, stands in a roundabout on the approach road. It was erected in 1985 and is 1.4 m (4.6 ft) tall. The unpolished steel sculpture was designed to commemorate 40 years of peace in Europe.[10]
In 1986, the ownership of the Airport transferred to the newly formed West Midlands Joint Airport Committee, comprising the seven West Midlands district councils. Shortly after this, The Airports Act 1986 was introduced, requiring municipal airports with turnover greater than £1m to become Public Airport Companies. On 1 April 1987, ownership of the airport was transferred to Birmingham International Airport plc, although still owned by the seven West Midlands district councils.
A second terminal, "Eurohub" opened on 26 July 1991 (with Concorde in attendance), more than doubling the airport's capacity. This second terminal was designed for the use of British Airways and its partners as part of a "hub and spoke" system whereby aircraft would arrive in waves from domestic and European destinations and allowed easy transfers so that a passenger from, say Edinburgh, could connect to a range of European destinations. During the 1980s and 1990s, British Airways also operated a service to New York-JFK, and for a short time Toronto-Pearson as well.
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 authority shares were sold to restructure the airport in to a private sector company, enabling a £260 million restructuring programme to begin in 1997.
In 1995 the Maglev Airport Rapid Transit system, which had been running between the airport and Birmingham International railway station on a 600-metre (1,969 ft) track since 1984,[11] was closed due to high cost and problems sourcing parts.
On 3 March 2000, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh officially opened the £40 million redevelopment of the airport. The redevelopment introduced a new customs and immigration hall, twelve new shops, a new baggage reclaim area, a new arrivals concourse, a new pier with three air bridges, sixteen new check-in desks, and linked Terminal One with Terminal Two (previously "Eurohub") for the first time.
Following on from this, a total of £18 million was spent on a replacement to Maglev; the AirRail Link people mover, which was the first in the world to be used at an airport. Along with this, the public transport interchange was built to extend Birmingham International railway station for airport users. This has since been named Birmingham International Interchange.
Concorde made her final visit to Birmingham Airport on 20 October 2003 as part of her farewell tour.
American Airlines operated a daily service to Chicago until 2002, when it was axed due to business executives not using the service enough [12] and in 2009, US Airways launched a seasonal service to Philadelphia.[13] However, due to the global economic crisis, the route was suspended.[14] As of April 2011, United Airlines, following its merger with Continental Airlines, is the only carrier to serve Birmingham with year-round, nonstop service to North America, with daily flights to Newark, NJ.
In 2000, Pakistan International Airlines launched a new twice weekly service linking Birmingham and Karachi via Copenhagen (due to runway limitations at Birmingham).[15] A year later, the service was made direct following the downgrade of aircraft. In 2003, a twice weekly service linking Birmingham with Islamabad and Chicago was launched, along with the existing Lahore-Birmingham-Toronto route. These routes were later axed and moved to Manchester. Currently, PIA operates a four weekly Islamabad-Birmingham operation using Boeing 777's, the largest aircraft to regularly serve Birmingham.
Emirates also launched a new service to Dubai in 2000, eventually going twice daily in 2005. In 2005, Air India launched a new service linking Birmingham with Amritsar and Toronto. However, the Birmingham link was axed in 2008 and re-routed through London Heathrow Airport in order to protect the airline's valuable Heathrow slots.[16]
In July 2007, Birmingham was voted the best airport in Europe in the 5 million to 10 million passengers per year category.[17]
The shorter runway (06/24) was decommissioned in January 2008. It had been used with less frequency 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 remaining runway.[18]
In June 2008 work began on the construction of the new ‘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, Airbus A350 and the Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’ as well as the larger aircraft types such as the Boeing 777 which currently serves the airport on a daily basis. The new pier also hosts a new lounge for business class Emirates passengers.[19]
The airport recently introduced charges for passengers using its luggage trolleys and was amongst the first airports in the world to do so. Passengers currently pay a non-refundable charge of £1/€2 for the use of a baggage trolley with payment accepted in coins or by card. The airport explained that the provision of a free bus service should reduce demand for trolleys.[20]
In January 2010, Birmingham International Airport announced they were to spend £13 million on merging Terminals 1 & 2 together. The merger is hoped to "improve passenger flows and operational efficiency, as well as creating a larger centralised passenger security search area, an enlarged meeting and greeting arrivals point, and an improved shopping and catering offer in both landside and airside areas."[21]
Whilst the merger is taking place, the four security control rooms are also being merged in to one in a £1.5 million scheme. Also, the airport Information Desk will close.[22]
The development of Terminal 1 saw improvements made to the International Pier and will see a new satellite pier to the north of the terminals. The masterplan also details the need for a third terminal. The planned extension to the main runway will also require a new control tower to be constructed. This new development was completed in February 2011 and was officially opened on 13 May 2011.
The airport has published a master plan for its development up to 2030, called "Towards 2030: Planning a Sustainable Future for Air Transport in the Midlands".[23] 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.
It was announced in September 2007 that plans for a second runway had been scrapped but plans to build another terminal and increase runway capacity would go ahead with works expected to finish in 2012. It was estimated that 15 million passengers will use the airport upon completion.
The first major element is an extension to the runway, the only airport in the UK to have gained planning consent for such work.[24] Originally targeted for completion in time for the 2012 London Olympics and Paralympics, work is now expected to be completed in 2013.
The extension will increase the runway length to from the present 2,605 m (8,547 ft) to 3,000 m (9,843 ft), as well as including a starter strip to provide a maximum takeoff run of 3,150 m (10,335 ft). The airport owners believe there is likely to be sufficient demand for long-range direct services operated by aircraft whose operations are constrained by the current runway length. The present runway length is short for an airport with Birmingham's passenger throughput and range of destinations, and limits aircraft to destinations on the east coast or in the midwest of North America, in the Gulf and Middle East, or on the South Asian subcontinent.
Plans for the extension of the airport runway and the construction of a new air traffic control tower were submitted to Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council in January 2008 and approved in March 2009.[25] The construction of the runway extension and a 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 will be diverted to the south of the runway instead.[26]
Taxiways will be further improved to allow for terminal expansion and to improve runway occupancy rates. A new turn off was completed in June 2006 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.
The construction of a new control tower for the airport began in July 2011. It is a replacement for the old tower that has stood at the airport since it's opening in 1939. Work is expected to be finished in 2012 and be fully operational by mid 2013.
In September 2010 an announcement was made that following the merging of Terminals 1 & 2 in 2011, the airport would drop the International from its official name to become Birmingham Airport.[24] 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".[27] However, the new name was used from November 2010.[28] 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.[29]
As part of the proposed High Speed Two rail link, a new railway station called Birmingham Interchange would be built to serve the both 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.[30]
Birmingham Airport is served by Birmingham International station. The station is on the West Coast Main Line between Birmingham and London. London Midland and Virgin Trains operate from Birmingham New Street station to Birmingham International station approximately every ten minutes, with a journey time of around ten minutes. There are three services per hour to and from London Euston, the journey time being around 70 minutes. Access between the railway station and the airport terminal is provided by the free AirRail Link.[31]
| Preceding station | AirRail Link | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birmingham International | AirRail Link | Terminus |
National Express West Midlands operates the main bus routes calling at Birmingham Airport, those being the 900 to Birmingham city centre and Coventry, and the 966 to Erdington and Solihull. Other smaller operators also call at the airport. Bus stops are situated outside Terminal One.[32]
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.
Black cabs are available at the taxi-rank outside the arrivals area of the terminals.
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 are no pick-up or drop-off areas available outside the terminal. Instead, there is a "Drop & Go" car park outside the terminals for which there is a charge of £1 for 15 minutes, £2 for 20 minutes and £5 for each subsequent 15 minutes.[33] The airport offers short and medium stay car parks close to the terminal, and long stay car parks with a free bus service to the terminal. The airport suggests using Short/Medium car parks 1/2/3 for arrivals [34] for which there is a charge of £3.30.[35]
Birmingham Airport is the location of six global car-hire firms with a dedicated return and collect car park near to the terminals.[36]
The only cycle route available heads south over the A45 travelling towards Solihull. Birmingham Airport have however published "recommended routes" for cyclists.[37] Free short term cycle parking is available close to Terminal One. For longer stays, bikes are required to be stored in Left Luggage for a charge.[38]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | Dublin |
| Aer Lingus Regional operated by Aer Arann |
Cork, Shannon |
| Air Berlin | Charter: Hanover, Paderborn/Lippstadt |
| Air France | Paris-Charles de Gaulle |
| Air France operated by Brit Air |
Lyon |
| Air Transat | Seasonal: Toronto-Pearson |
| Austrian Airlines | Seasonal: Innsbruck |
| BH Air | Bourgas, Varna |
| Bmibaby | Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona [begins 29 March], Belfast-City, Knock, Lisbon [begins 31 March], Málaga, Prague, Rome-Fiumicino [begins 30 March] Seasonal: Faro, Geneva, Murcia, Nice, Palma de Mallorca |
| Brussels Airlines | Brussels |
| City Airline | Gothenburg-Landvetter |
| Eastern Airways | Newcastle |
| EasyJet | Seasonal: Geneva, Grenoble |
| Emirates | Dubai |
| Flybe | Aberdeen, Belfast-City, Düsseldorf, Edinburgh, Glasgow-International, Guernsey, Hamburg, Hanover, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey, Milan-Malpensa, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Stuttgart Seasonal: Avignon, Bergerac, Bordeaux, Brest, Chambéry, Dubrovnik, La Rochelle, Limoges, Rennes, Toulouse, Turin Charter: Lleida-Alguaire, Norwich |
| Flybe operated by Loganair | Dundee |
| Fly Hellas | Seasonal: Heraklion |
| KLM | Amsterdam |
| KLM operated by KLM Cityhopper | Amsterdam |
| Lufthansa | Berlin-Brandenburg [begins 3 June], Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich |
| Lufthansa operated by BMI | Frankfurt |
| Lufthansa operated by Eurowings | Düsseldorf |
| Lufthansa operated by Lufthansa CityLine | Munich |
| Mahan Air | Tehran-Imam Khoemeini |
| Monarch | Scheduled: Alicante, Faro, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Larnaca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Málaga, Milan-Malpensa [begins 25 March], Rome-Fiumicino [begins 25 March], Tenerife-South, Venice-Marco Polo [begins 25 March] Scheduled Seasonal: Almería, Bodrum, Dalaman, Dubrovnik [begins 3 May], Heraklion [begins 1 May], Ibiza, Minorca, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos Charter Seasonal: Chania [begins 1 May], Corfu, Geneva, Heraklion, Kelafonia [begins 3 June], Preveza-Lefkas [begins 3 June] Rhodes, Zakynthos |
| Nouvelair | Seasonal: Enfidha |
| Onur Air | Seasonal: Bodrum, Dalaman |
| Pakistan International Airlines | Islamabad |
| Pegasus Airlines | Seasonal: Dalaman |
| Ryanair | Alicante, Bratislava, Bydgoszcz, Derry, Dublin, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gdańsk, Girona, Katowice, Kaunas, Lanzarote, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Málaga, Malta, Rzeszów, Tenerife-South Seasonal: Ibiza, Montpellier, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Trieste |
| Scandinavian Airlines | Copenhagen |
| Swiss International Air Lines | Zürich |
| Swiss International Air Lines operated by Helvetic Airways | Zürich |
| Thomas Cook Airlines | Alicante, Antalya, Dalaman, Faro, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Malaga, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife-South Seasonal: Banjul, Bodrum, Bourgas, Corfu, Enfidha, Grenoble, Heralkion, Hurghada, Ibiza, Izmir, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Minorca, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Reus, Rhodes, Salzburg, Santorini, Zakynthos |
| Thomson Airways | Alicante, Cancún, Enfidha, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Lanzarote, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Hurghada, Luxor, Málaga, Malta, Montego Bay-Sangster, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Sal, Sharm el Sheikh, Taba, Tenerife-South Seasonal: Antalya, Barbados, Boa Vista, Bodrum, Bourgas, Chambery, Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Geneva, Gerona, Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, Izmir, Kavala, Kefalonia, Kos, Larnaca, Minorca, Naples, Orlando-Sanford, Pisa, Pula, Punta Cana [resumes 4 November 2012], Reus, Rhodes, Salzburg, Santorini, Skiathos, Sofia, Toulouse, Turin, Verona, Zakynthos |
| Turkish Airlines | Istanbul-Atatürk |
| Turkmenistan Airlines | Ashgabat |
| United Airlines | Newark |
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| FedEx Feeder operated by Air Contractors | Dublin, Paris-Charles de Gaulle |
| Farnair | Basel-Mulhouse |
| TNT Airways | Dublin, Liége |
| West Air Luxembourg | Eindhoven |
| Omni Air International | Akrotiri (Military Charter) |
| RAF-Avia | Riga |
After handling a record 9.6 million passengers in 2008, passenger numbers declined to 8,572,398 in 2010, making Birmingham the seventh busiest UK airport.[2] Since 2006, both Luton Airport and Edinburgh Airport have overtaken Birmingham Airport in terms of passenger numbers.
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| Rank | Airport | Passengers handled | % Change 2009 / 10 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dublin | 534,982 | 8 |
| 2 | Dubai | 497,362 | 14 |
| 3 | Amsterdam | 427,004 | 4 |
| 4 | Paris Charles de Gaulle | 314,227 | 1 |
| 5 | Alicante | 293,507 | 6 |
| 6 | Edinburgh | 288,035 | 14 |
| 7 | Malaga | 280,250 | 8 |
| 8 | Tenerife South | 276,874 | 12 |
| 9 | Frankfurt | 254,282 | 10 |
| 10 | Palma de Mallorca | 233,425 | 24 |
| 11 | Glasgow International | 212,624 | 21 |
| 12 | Faro | 196,199 | 11 |
| 13 | Dalaman | 184,390 | 29 |
| 14 | Lanzarote | 169,635 | 21 |
| 15 | Düsseldorf | 151,872 | 10 |
| 16 | Zurich | 142,972 | 10 |
| 17 | Sharm El Sheikh | 133,049 | 15 |
| 18 | Larnaca | 124,635 | 6 |
| 19 | Munich | 120,511 | 6 |
| 20 | Ibiza | 110,842 | 23 |
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