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Birmingham International Airport
IATA: BHX – ICAO: EGBB
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Birmingham International Airport Ltd
Serves		Birmingham and the surrounding areas.
Location		Bickenhill, West Midlands
Hub for		Bmibaby Flybe Monarch Airlines Ryanair Thomas Cook Airlines Thomson Airways
Elevation AMSL		328 ft / 100 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		www.birminghamairport.co.uk
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
15/33	2,599	8,527	Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft Movements			101,221
Passengers			9,102,899
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Birmingham International Airport (IATA: BHX, ICAO: EGBB) is an international 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. In 2009 it was the sixth busiest airport in the UK and second busiest not serving London, after Manchester Airport.

The airport is a major base for Bmibaby, Flybe, Monarch Airlines, Ryanair and Thomson Airways. The airline that operates most flights to Birmingham is Flybe, however the airline that transports most passengers at Birmingham is Ryanair, with Bmibaby close behind.

Birmingham has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P451) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

Despite handling a record number of passengers in 2008, passenger numbers declined by 5.4% in 2009 to 9,102,899.^[2] It offers flights within the UK, Europe, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, North America and the Caribbean.

Location

Birmingham Airport is situated 5.5 NM (10.2 km; 6.3 mi) east southeast of Birmingham city centre, in the Solihull Borough. 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 only operational runway is north-west - south-east orientated, so depending on wind direction, aircraft land or take off directly over Birmingham. Other leading European airports, such as those at Madrid, Frankfurt and Paris, are located north or south of their cities, to minimise the overflying problem.

As most of the airport is located within the area of Solihull, all planning permission is reviewed by the Solihull Council which is run separately from Birmingham City Council. In effect, Birmingham has little or no control over Birmingham Airport's expansion plans.

History

1920s to 1939

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 and was owned and operated by Birmingham City Council. Initial services flew to Croydon, Glasgow, Liverpool, Ryde, Shoreham, Manchester and Southampton.

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 an Elementary Flying School and a 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)^[3]. 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.

1946 - 1970s

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.^[4] 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.^[5]

Part of the Terminal 2 apron, the runway is seen beyond.

1980s - 2000

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. [1]
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.^[6]

Take Off - sculpture by Walenty Pytel

In 1986, the ownership of the Airport transferred to the newly formed West Midlands Joint Airport Committee, comprised of 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 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,^[7] was closed due to high cost and problems sourcing parts.

2000 - Today

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 2001 and in 2009, US Airways launched a seasonal service to Philadelphia. However, due to the global economic crisis, the route was suspended.

In July 2007, Birmingham was voted the best airport in Europe in the 5 million to 10 million passengers per year category.^[8]

The shorter runway (06/24) was decommissioned in January 2008. It had been used with less frequency due to its length, noise impact, and its inconvenient position crossing the main runway making it uneconomic to continue operation. The closure also allows for apron expansion on both sides of the remaining runway.^[9]

Part of Terminal 1, the runway is seen beyond.

An Emirates Boeing 777-300ER preparing to depart, February 2009.

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.

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 theAirbus 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 Emirates.^[10]

Future

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".^[11] 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 is disputed by opponents.

Runway Extension

The first major element is an extension to the runway, targeted for completion in time for the 2012 London Olympics. The extension will increase the runway length to 3,000 metres (9,843 ft), as well as including a starter strip to provide a maximum takeoff run of 3,150 metres (10,335 ft). The airport owners believe there is likely to be sufficient demand for long-range direct services operated by aircraft whose operation would be constrained by the current runway. At 2,605 metres (8,547 ft), this 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. The construction of this extension to the southern end of the runway will require the A45 Coventry Road to be diverted into a tunnel under the extended section. 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 on 7 January 2008. The plans were approved on 31 March 2009.^[12]

Taxiways will be improved to allow for terminal expansion and to improve runway occupancy rates. One new turnoff was completed in June 2006 and has seen an improvement on traffic rates on southerly operations, where the only available option for landing traffic had been to travel to the end of the runway to turn off.

It was announced on 26 September 2007 that plans for a second runway had been scrapped but plans to build another terminal and increase capacity will go ahead with works expected to finish in 2012. It is estimated that 15 million passengers will use the airport by 2013.

Airport Building

In January 2010, Birmingham International Airport announced they were to spend £13 million on merging Terminals 1 & 2 together following a decrease in passenger numbers. 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."^[13]

Whilst the merger is taking place, the four security control rooms are also being merged in to one in a £1.5 million scheme. This is to be completed in March ready for the Summer period. At the same time, the Information Desk will close with the loss of twenty five jobs.^[14]

The AirRail Link joins the railway station to the airport, operated by a track and pulley system

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.

High Speed Two

A new railway station is to be built to serve the airport called Birmingham Interchange. This will be on the High Speed Two railway line. The station would be built on the far side of the M42 motorway and connect to the airport using a "rapid transit people mover". High Speed Two is expected to be completed in 2026.^[15]

Terminals, airlines and destinations

Cargo services

Accidents and incidents

• On the morning of 4 January 2002, a Bombardier-CL604 business jet crashed on take-off from runway 15 at Birmingham.^[18] 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 besides 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.

• On 23 February 2006, a 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.^[19]

• On 15 June 2006, a TNT Airways cargo 737-300 made an emergency landing at Birmingham with damaged landing gear.^[20] 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.^[21] However, the company ascribed the incident to human error and both pilots were dismissed.^[22] 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.^[23]

Security incidents

• On 6 June 2007, The Tonight with Trevor McDonald programme exposed serious security flaws at Birmingham Airport over a six month period. Fifteen members of staff working for the security contractor "ICTS UK Ltd" were suspended and subsequently sacked for gross misconduct.^[24] 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 it was commented upon in the United States Congress by Bennie Thompson, the chairman of the US Congress Homeland Security Committee, who advised that all flights to and from Birmingham Airport should cease.^[25] Despite sacking the members of staff in the programme for their actions, ICTS still claimed that the footage had been "contrived to exaggerate and sensationalise" the issues.^[26]

• On 8 June 2009, the West Midlands Police helicopter, based at Birmingham Airport, was extensively damaged after a fire-bomb attack following a "serious security breach". The £4m Eurocopter was severely damaged after arsonists gained access through a perimeter fence at 2am.^[27][28]

• On 14 February 2010, a faulty Archway Metal Detector (AMD) was switched off in Terminal 2 and not switched back on again, allowing hundreds of passengers to pass through unchecked. The "serious failure" was not spotted until police officers wearing metal equipment passed through and the AMDs did not sound. Birmingham Airport commented that a full and thorough investigation was under way. ^[29]

Statistics

Number of Passengers[2] Number of Movements[30] 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 Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority[31]

In 2007, the 10 busiest scheduled destinations at the airport were Dublin, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dubai, Paris, Glasgow, Frankfurt, Malaga and Alicante. The 10 busiest charter destinations were Palma, Tenerife, Arrecife, Paphos, Dalaman, Las Palmas, Heraklion, Fuerteventura, Larnaca and Ibiza.^[32]

See also

• Transport in Birmingham

References

External links

• Birmingham International Airport - Official website
• Airport Consultative Committee
• MADE IN BIRMINGHAM Elmdon Airport

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