Birmingham Airport
Birmingham Airport is an international airport in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull, approximately eight miles (13 km) south-east of central Birmingham. It uses the IATA code BHX and ICAO location indicator EGBB. The airport handled 13,663,877 passengers in 2025, an increase of about 6 per cent from 2024.[1][2]
Location and role
The airport lies east of Birmingham between Bickenhill, Marston Green and the National Exhibition Centre. It sits beside Birmingham International railway station and close to the M42, M6 and A45 corridors. Its central position gives it a catchment extending across the West Midlands and into neighbouring parts of central England.[2][3]
Birmingham supports domestic and European scheduled services, a large leisure network and selected long-haul routes. In the 2026 route snapshot, the airport listed approximately 155 destinations, including seasonal and connecting-market entries. The airline mix includes based low-cost and leisure operators alongside network services to hubs such as Amsterdam, Paris, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Doha and Dubai.[4][5]
The airport is the principal commercial passenger airport for the West Midlands. It also handles cargo, charter, business-aviation and maintenance activity on the former Elmdon side of the airfield.
Ownership, operation and regulation
Birmingham Airport Limited operates the airport. The airport's published history lists the seven West Midlands metropolitan district councils as holding 49 per cent collectively, private institutional investors holding 48.25 per cent and an employee share trust holding 2.75 per cent. The seven councils are Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.[2]
The UK Civil Aviation Authority lists Birmingham as a certificated aerodrome under ICAO indicator EGBB. Current flight procedures, declared runway distances and temporary restrictions are published through the UK Aeronautical Information Publication and NOTAM system; commercial terminal information does not replace those operational sources.[6][7]
History
Birmingham City Council decided in 1928 that the city required a municipal airport. Elmdon was selected as the preferred site in 1933. Scheduled services began in May 1939 and the airport was officially opened by the Duchess of Kent on 8 July 1939 as Elmdon Airport.[2]
Civil flying ceased shortly after the outbreak of the Second World War. The Air Ministry requisitioned the airport, which was used for elementary flying training, Fleet Air Arm activity, aircraft testing and the delivery of Short Stirling and Avro Lancaster bombers. Two hard-surface runways replaced the original grass strip during the war.[2]
The airport reopened for civil flying on 8 July 1946. British European Airways began a scheduled Paris service in 1949, and other continental routes followed during the 1950s. An 800-foot runway extension opened in 1959, when the name Birmingham Airport replaced Elmdon. The International Building opened in 1961 and further runway work between 1967 and 1970 supported turboprop and jet operations.[2][8]
Traffic reached one million annual passengers during the 1970s. A new terminal on the east side of the runway opened on 30 May 1984, replacing the original Elmdon building for mainstream passenger operations. British Airways opened its Eurohub at Birmingham in 1991, while a terminal extension known as the Millennium Link opened in 2000.[8]
The cable-driven Air-Rail Link opened in 2003 between Birmingham International station and the terminal. A new international pier followed in 2009. Previously separate terminal areas were subsequently combined into a single passenger terminal, while the former Elmdon terminal and adjacent apron remained in aviation use.[2][9]
A 400-metre runway extension entered service in May 2014. It increased the physical length of runway 15/33 to 3,003 metres and enabled longer-range operations with fewer payload restrictions. A Beijing charter later in 2014 became the first direct passenger flight from China to a UK airport outside London.[2][10]
Terminal
Birmingham operates one terminal for all arriving and departing passenger flights. Check-in occupies ground-floor zones A to D: at the August 2026 snapshot Zone A was assigned to Jet2, Zone D to Emirates and Zones B and C to other airlines. These assignments are operational and may change.[9]
Security is on the first floor, with access from different check-in areas. The connected terminal complex contains the departure lounge, immigration and baggage-reclaim facilities, while the international pier provides airbridge-capable stands for larger aircraft.[9][2]
The airport is undertaking a £300 million transformation programme. Recent work includes next-generation security facilities, expanded immigration and baggage reclaim, baggage-system capacity and airfield projects. Individual projects should be treated as complete only when the airport reports entry into service; the programme as a whole remains a continuing investment portfolio.[11][12]
Runway and airfield
Birmingham has one runway, 15/33, measuring 3,003 metres by 45 metres with a grooved asphalt surface. The NATS Type A chart effective 16 February 2024 publishes the following declared distances:[7]
| Direction | Take-off run available | Take-off distance available | Landing distance available |
| 15 | 3,003 m | 3,063 m | 2,580 m |
| 33 | 3,003 m | 3,196 m | 2,449 m |
The take-off distances include directional clearways, while displaced thresholds reduce the landing distance available. Physical runway length must therefore not be substituted for the directional figures used in aircraft performance planning.[7]
The 2014 extension was built at the southern end of the runway, requiring diversion of the A45. It was intended to improve the economics and range of long-haul departures rather than create a second runway.[2][13]
The passenger terminal, international pier and principal passenger aprons are east of the runway. The historic Elmdon terminal, cargo facilities, maintenance areas and business-aviation stands are on the west side. Airfield projects in 2025 included improved access for large freighters to the Elmdon apron and realignment of stands.[12]
Airlines and operations
The short-haul network combines airline bases with services to major European hubs. Jet2.com, Ryanair, TUI and easyJet operate extensive leisure and low-cost schedules. easyJet opened a Birmingham base in March 2024; by May 2026 it had six based aircraft and 44 routes.[14]
Network airlines provide onward connectivity through hubs, while direct long-haul flying includes Emirates' Dubai service and routes operated by Middle Eastern and South Asian carriers. Schedules and destination counts change seasonally, so the airport's live airline and route directories are the appropriate source for current flight planning.[5][4]
In May 2026 the airport recorded 1,303,831 passengers, its busiest May at that point. Dublin, Palma, Amsterdam and Alicante were the four largest routes for the month. This monthly snapshot should not be added to or compared directly with a complete calendar-year total without accounting for seasonality.[11]
Ground transport
Birmingham International railway station is on the West Coast Main Line and is physically separated from the terminal by the airport and NEC complex. The free Air-Rail Link connects the first floor of the station with the first floor of the terminal. It operates on demand between 03:30 and 00:30, with passengers transferring to ground-floor check-in after arrival.[3]
Rail services connect Birmingham International with Birmingham New Street, London Euston and destinations across the West Midlands and national network. The station also serves the neighbouring National Exhibition Centre and Resorts World complex.[3]
Local buses, regional coaches and taxis serve stops outside the terminal. Road access is primarily from the A45 and M42, with links to the M6, M40 and wider motorway system. Parking and set-down arrangements are operational information and may change independently of the airport's fixed infrastructure.
Traffic statistics
| Year | Passengers | Fixed-wing air transport movements | Change from previous year |
| 2024 | 12,848,201 | 88,203 | — |
| 2025 | 13,663,877 | 93,475 | Passengers +6%; movements +6.0% |
The CAA's complete 2025 dataset separates air transport movements from other aircraft activity. Its annual totals provide a consistent basis for comparison and supersede older airport pages that quote pre-pandemic or interim traffic.[1]
Related pages
Sources
Birmingham Airport history — Birmingham Airport Limited
Annual airport data 2025 — UK Civil Aviation Authority
UK certificated aerodromes — UK Civil Aviation Authority
Birmingham runway 15/33 Type A chart — NATS Aeronautical Information Service, effective 16 February 2024
Birmingham Airport single-terminal and check-in information — Birmingham Airport Limited, accessed 29 August 2026
Birmingham Airport destinations — Birmingham Airport Limited, accessed 29 August 2026
Birmingham Airport airline directory — Birmingham Airport Limited, accessed 29 August 2026
Directions and transport — Birmingham Airport Limited, accessed 29 August 2026
Birmingham Airport development projects — Birmingham Airport Limited, accessed 29 August 2026
Record May 2026 traffic — Birmingham Airport Limited, 15 June 2026
easyJet growth at Birmingham in 2026 — Birmingham Airport Limited, 1 May 2026
Image source and licence: Birmingham Airport terminal buildings — JimmyGuano, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
