IATA Code: BHX
Address: Birmingham International Airport Ltd
Birmingham
B26 3QJ
Terminal Plan: Here
Distance from City: 10km
Day Trip Possible: Yes
Passenger Numbers: 9,100,000 (2009)
Closest Alternatives: East Midlands
Overview: Known as the UK’s second city, Bham is one of the biggest airports outside the capital city and is a major airport for the country, offering a huge range of flights.Even despite the development of alternative airports in close proximity such as Robin Hood and even closer, East Midlands, the airport has coped admirably in recent years with only a 5% hit in passenger numbers. There are further developments ahead including lengthening the runway and improvement of the terminals, and in the future it may be that Birmingham is a credible long-haul destination.
Getting there: Handily, the airport has it’s own train station and based in the centre of the country, has good connections to far-flung places such as London, Manchester and Bournemouth. At the station you have to transfer to a short light rail system (similar to ones used at Stansted and Gatwick) but these pose no problems and is free as you would expect. Bus services also call at the airport with shorter local services for Birmingham and also long-range coaches. Taxi and car hire are also available at the airport.
General Tips: Low-cost airlines mainly leave from Terminal 2 which is a modern enough affair, and is quite well set out with arrivals on the bottom floor and departures on the top floor. Plenty of known franchise here which is a welcome sight; Subway, Costa Coffee, WHSmith, and Wetherspoon all are here, albeit not in the same terminals. The bulk of shopping facilities are in the departure lounge and in common with most UK airports nowadays, there is no smoking at all once you’re past security with only spaces at the front of the airport.
Budget Travellers Guide: Birmingham is a surprisingly good budget destination, with Ryanair choosing to offer some routes here non-available from the London hubs such as Prague. Very little Easyjet flights from here, and with EZY vacating East Midlands as well, are not well represented here. Flybe have really taken over their mantle with a great selection of flights from here including Paris CDG, Milan-Malpensa, Hamburg and Frankfurt (the main airports). This is also a good base for BMIBaby as well, who often feature cheap flights as well.
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