Birmingham - Facts, Figures and History

Birmingham Airport Facts

Birmingham International Airport (BIA) is the UK’s 5th largest airport and the 2nd outside London.
In 2001, the Airport handled 7.8 million passengers, an increase of 2.8% on 2000.
The busiest day ever at the Airport was 7th September 2001. Over 32,489 passengers travelled through the terminals and there were a total number of 305 air traffic movements (ATM’s). An average day sees around 19,000 passengers and over 250 ATM’s.
The Airport was voted ‘Best UK Business Airport’ in 2000 for the fourth time in six years. It was also acclaimed ‘Most Improved Airport – Runner Up’ at the global Airport Service Excellence Awards.
BIA is one of the largest employers in the West Midlands, supporting over 6,500 jobs directly onsite and a further 1,000 jobs offsite.

Birmingham Airport History

Birmingham Airport was opened at Elmdon, Birmingham on 8th July 1939. Owned and operated by Birmingham City Council as a municipal airport, it was designed to meet the needs of the residents and the industry of the city and its immediate surroundings.

Civil aviation ceased on the outbreak of the Second World War when the airport was requisitioned by the Air Ministry. Still under government control, the airport re-opened for civil flying in July 1946. The City of Birmingham took over responsibility again in 1960. In April 1974, the newly formed West Midlands Metropolitan County Council took over the airport. The county council incorporated the seven Metropolitan areas of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

As international flights became more available, the terminal and the runway were expanded to cater for these growing needs. It soon became evident that a longer term solution was required. 1984 saw the opening of the Main Terminal, with a capacity for 3 million passengers.

In 1986 after the West Midlands County Council was abolished, ownership of the Airport transferred to a newly formed West Midlands District Joint Airport Committee still comprising the seven district councils of the West Midlands administrative area. The Airports Act 1986 introduced legislation requiring municipal airports with a turnover in excess of Ł1 million to become Public Airport Companies and on 1st April 1987, the ownership of the Airport transferred to Birmingham International Airport plc, a public limited company owned by the seven West Midlands district councils.

July 1991 saw the opening of the Birmingham International Airport's second terminal - the Eurohub. A concept already developed in the United States for domestic operations, Eurohub took the 'hub and spoke' principle a stage further by solving the complications of customs and immigration control which previously demanded separate terminals. It was the first terminal in the world to combine domestic and international passengers. Thanks to the new terminal design, the greatest distance passengers have to walk to, from and between flights is only 250 metres, all within a target transfer time of just 25 minutes.