Birmingham Airport

BHX originated in 1928, as the Birmingham City Council determined that a municipal airport would be required to serve the city. Several sites were inspected, but cutbacks necessitated by the Great Depression delayed progress. It was only in 1933 they began to acquire land for the purpose of constructing the airport, and in 1936 the architects and city planners began to design the airport. Final drawings were completed in June 1937, and contractors were appointed in October. By May 1st, 1939, the works had come far enough that the airport could handle aviation traffic. The airport officially opened on June 8th, 1939, as Elmdon Airport (named after the land on which it was built), and it was owned and operated by the Birmingham City Council. The terminal was designed as an Art Deco building, and it incorporated the air traffic control tower. The first routes were to Glasgow, Liverpool, Manchester, Southampton, Croydon, and Shoreham. WWII broke out shortly after that, bringing civilian services at the airport to a halt. BHX was used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy as RAF Elmdon as a base for the Fleet Air Arm and as an Elementary Flying School. At this time, many improvements were made to the airport, including replacing the grass runway with two paved runways: 06/24 at 2,469 feet and 15/33 at 4,170 feet. There was a factory of the Austin Aero Company (producing Avro Lancaster and Stirling bombers) Cofton Hackett, but the nearby runways at Longbridge were too short for takeoff. As such, the planes were transported to RAF Elmdon, where they were flown. Once they were deemed airworthy, the aircraft were dispatched to their operational units.
After the end of the war, the aerodrome was reopened to civilian operation on July 8th, 1946. Regularly scheduled flights resumed in 1949 via British European Airways flights to Paris. By 1960, routes to Zurich, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Düsseldorf, and Palma. At that time, the City of Birmingham resumed responsibility for the airport’s control (which had been in the hands of the UK government). The following year a new terminal building opened for international traffic. The airport’s main runway was extended to 7,400 feet between 1967 and 1970, allowing the new jets to be used. In 1974 operations of the airport were taken over by the West Midlands Metropolitan County Council. In 1984 the Birmingham Airport Maglev (a low-speed shuttle) opened, the first in the world of its kind (its use was discontinued in 1995 as the system was unreliable, and much of its infrastructure was later used for the AirRail Link Cable Liner people mover). In 1993, the airport was restructured into a private sector company, which brought about a 260 million pound restructuring program in 1997. Runway 06/24 was decommissioned in January 2008, as it wasn’t used as often due to its shorter length, noise impact, and the fact that it crossed the main runway. However, it remains open as a taxiway and helicopter airstrip. In June that year, work began on a three-story International Pier, which opened on September 9th, 2009. It enables air-bridged aircraft parking for seven wide-bodied aircraft and enough space for 13 smaller aircraft while accommodating the newer wide-bodied aircraft such as the Airbus A380, the Airbus A340-600, the Boeing 747-8, and the Boeing 777X.
Moreover, there is a lounge for Emirates business class passengers. In 2011 the two terminals were merged into one, and the airport dropped “international” from its name to become simple Birmingham Airport. The merge involved the construction of two new floors and a new Centralized Security Search area. In July, construction of a new air traffic control tower began, and this was completed in March 2012 (replacing the original tower, which had been in use since the airport’s inception). In the Autumn of 2012, work on extending the runway began, which required the diversion of the A45 Coventry Road. During the summer of 2013, the new air traffic control tower became fully operational. In May 2014, the runway extension officially opened. On September 28th, 2016, a 100 million pound investment was made for a new baggage handling system and two new car parks.

The airport is located 8.1 miles east-southeast of the Birmingham city center, and 10.9 miles west-northwest of Coventry. 

• Beyond the Emirates Lounge, BHX features two Aspire Lounge locations, a No1 Lounge, and Clubrooms. 
• Hotels on-site include the Hilton Garden Inn and Novotel. 
• FBOs at BHX include Signature Flight Support and Universal Aviation.