Birmingham Airport History

Birmingham Airport is among the busiest airports in the country, and outside of London, it is the third busiest airport in the UK. But if we trace the airport’s history back to its roots, we discover a very different place.

Early history

In 1928, Birmingham City Council decided that the city needed an airport. For economic reasons, these plans were delayed, but in 1933 a location was finally settled upon for the airport. Birmingham Airport opened – under the name of Elmdon Airport – on July 8th 1939. Initial flights took passengers to Croydon, Glasgow and Liverpool, among other destinations.

The war years

During the Second World War, Birmingham Airport was used as a flying school and an RAF base. Two runways were built, replacing the grass strip that had been there previously. When the war was over, the airport was used for civilian flights once again, resuming on July 8th 1946.

The 1960s to the 1990s

In 1961 a new terminal building, called The International Building, was added to Birmingham Airport. The main runway was extended in 1967, and a new service to New York was launched. The airport came to its current form in 1984, when a new terminal was built. Additional structural enhancements took place throughout the 1990s.

Recent developments

A £40 million redevelopment to the airport was launched by the the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in the year 2000. In 2009 a new ‘International Pier’ was added to the airport, and an Airbus A380 plane used it: the first outside of Heathrow to do so.

Facilities at the airport have continued to improve, including Birmingham airport car parking facilities. Services like Airparks Birmingham and the Birmingham Long Stay Car Park 1 continue to offer superb value for money, to anyone leaving their car at the airport while travelling.