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Birmingham Airport History
Birmingham International Airport was opened on the 8th July 1939 as a municipal airport to service the industrial and residential needs of Birmingham City and the surrounding area.
At the outbreak of World War Two the airport was requisitioned by the Air Ministry and was closed to all civilian flights. In July 1946 the airport re-opened for civilian flight, albeit still under the control of the Government. It wasn’t until 1960 that control of the Airport was passed back to the City of Birmingham and then in 1974 the newly formed West Midlands Metropolitan County Council took over.
As the requirement for air travel increased and more international flights became readily available, Birmingham Airport expanded both its terminals and runways to cope with the growth. But it soon became apparent that a longer term solution would be required and in 1984 the new Main Terminal was opened with capacity to accommodate 3 million passengers.
1986 saw the abolition of the West Midlands County Council and ownership of the Airport transferred to the West Midlands District Joint Airport Committee – newly formed and encompassing the seven district councils of the West Midlands area, but legislation introduced in April 1987 (The Airports Act 1986) requiring airports with a turnover in excess of £1 million to become Public Airport Companies, meant the ownership of the Airport was shortly transferred to Birmingham International Airport Plc – a public limited owned by seven West Midlands district councils.
As the need for expansion grew in 1991 a second Terminal was opened – named the Eurohub. It was the first Terminal in the world to combine both domestic and international flights and its unique design ensured that the greatest distance for passengers to walk between flights was reduced to just 250 meters, resulting in a transfer time of only 25 minutes.
Following this the introduction of public sector borrowing restrictions meant that any further development of the Airport would have to be funded with private sector finance. In 1993 the local authority owners reduced their shareholding to below 50% and Birmingham International Airport was restructured into a private sector company. In 1997 BIA began its £260 million development programme.
In 2000 the £40 million terminal development was officially opened be Her Majesty, The Queen. The development provided a new two storey arrivals concourse which provided a link between the two terminals, 16 new check in desks, a new baggage reclaim hall, a new pier with glass-sided air bridges, new Immigration and Customs halls and a dozen new retail and catering outlets.
March 2003 saw the opening of a new £11 million Air-Rail Link people mover system and the £7 million public transport Interchange – all aimed at providing easier access to the Airport via public transport. The Air-Rail link is an Austrian built cable-driven system which consists of two trains, each with two carriages, which can transport up to 1600 people per hour between the passenger terminals and the rail station, with a transfer time of just 90 seconds. Birmingham’s International Interchange, a two-storey public transport facility at the rail station, eases transfer between train and plane.
These two major developments have enhanced further Birmingham Airport’s reputation as a first class provider of Air transport in the Midlands region.
