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All direct flights from Birmingham Airport (UK)
Flight Summary
Birmingham Airport is a major base for airlines like Flybe, bmibaby, Monarch, Ryanair, Thomson Airways and Thomas Cook Airlines.
Birmingham has a solid network of UK domestic flights dominated by budget airline Flybe, but there is much less competition between airlines than at many other UK regional airports. This is partly because Birmingham is sandwiched roughly halfway between Manchester and London, cutting out the prospects of either of these cities being a destination for flights.
Nearby East Midlands airport provides some competition on flights to Scotland and Ireland, but we would also suggest checking train fares as an alternative to flights from Birmingham to Edinburgh or Glasgow.
A lot of people (mostly Londoners!) I've spoken to over the years say BHX feels small and provincial, even compared to Manchester, but I'd rather use an airport that is easy to get to (unlike nearest rival East Midlands) by train and rarely feels too overcrowded than somewhere like the horror show that Stansted has become.
Destination Summary
Most people who lived in the Midlands during the 1980s will recall the catchy, but corny, adverts for the 'Bull Ring Shopping Centre'. The adverts were a last desperate bid to lure customers into the decaying heart of Birmingham's city centre. How times have changed.
The Bull Ring has been completely rebuilt, nestling alongside the stunning Selfridges department store. All around, ambitious new building projects are planned, including a complete overhaul of the much-maligned New Street Station.
The butt of jokes for too long, Britain's second city is really getting its act together. Birmingham is very much a work in progress, as the whole city centre is transformed from a 1960s concrete nightmare into an ultra-modern metropolis. Even the landmark Rotunda tower has had the Urban Splash treatment.
The city centre is largely given over to the fine British pastime of shopping. Selfridges and the Bull Ring are heaving all the time, whereas the equally impressive Mailbox development, situated on the opposite side of New Street Station, is quieter and more upmarket.
Nightlife is centred on Broad Street and its environs, the busiest entertainment district in Europe. The Arcadian Centre, south of New Street, is also very popular.
A visit to Birmingham would not be complete without having a balti, the Pakistani inspired curry dish. The famed Balti Triangle is in Sparkbrook, a couple of miles south of the city centre (take a bus or taxi, the route from the city centre is not the most scenic of walks). Those with a sweeter tooth should visit Cadbury World, situated in the model-village of Bourneville, five miles southwest of central Birmingham.
Quick Facts
- Airport Code: BHX
- Alternative Name: Birmingham International, Elmdon
- Miles From City Centre: 8
- Miles From London: 162
James Says
Like Mark (see below), I've taken more flights from Birmingham than I care to remember, starting with regular summer trips to see friends in Jersey on British Midland's (now BMI) legendary Vickers Viscount propeller planes.
As someone living halfway time-wise between Coventry and Birmingham airports, I want to see Birmingham airport do well, especially now that Coventry airport's passenger terminal lies dormant. However, I still think there are vast gaps in Birmingham airport's route network, especially as the airport is investing so many resources in its runway extension, and hopes getting more passengers through the HS2 rail link and rebranding itself without the International name.
Birmingham's strongest hand probably lies in its domestic flights network -- regular connections are available to all major airports in Scotland and also across to Northern Ireland, although even here, competition on flights to Edinburgh and Glasgow has waned of late.
If you are looking for flights to Europe from Birmingham, the offering is good for popular holiday destinations in Spain, Portugal, France and Greece, whereas this year also sees the development of a number of new flights to Italy.
Ski flights are also well represented, and Birmingham has always had good business links with western Germany, although the announcement of Lufthansa starting flights to Berlin once the new Brandenburg airport opens in June is long overdue.
Sadly, the list of European capitals without direct flights from Birmingham is all too long -- including virtually all of the key cities in the Nordic region, apart from Copenhagen.
Whilst you will have no problem finding holiday flights to Spain and Greece, Birmingham still lacks direct flights to Madrid or Athens, two European capitals which are still important for both business and city breaks, despite the current economic turbulence. Then there's Warsaw and Budapest in the former Eastern-Bloc (no flights to Moscow either, but we probably wouldn't expect those) - I could go on!
Birmingham is well served by legacy network airlines, especially with the through connections available via various German airports provided by Lufthansa.
Leisure airlines like Thompson and Thomas Cook have always been well represented at Birmingham, whereas low-cost flights are offered by Ryanair, Bmibaby, Monarch scheduled and Flybe, all of whom have a number of aircraft based at Birmingham.
On the long haul front, Birmingham is pinning its hopes on being able to open up a whole host of new destinations once its runway extension opens in 2014, although there remain a number of cities which could be viably served without this runway extension being in place, including Atalanta and Washington DC in the USA (Philadelphia flights only lasted one summer season), connections through Middle Eastern hubs such as Doha in Qatar or the Emirate capital Abu Dhabi, and direct flights to India, which have previously been operated, but are no longer available. We understand it largely due to internal wranglings, rather than any inherent lack of demand (trust us, there is plenty) or technical issues relating to the runway.
Despite these gaps in the network, Birmingham does still do very well out of its long haul flights to New York and Dubai, both of which offer substantial onward connections as well is being fantastic destinations in their own right. Other long-haul scheduled flights operate from Birmingham to western Asia, whereas popular holiday flights include destinations like Mexico and the Caribbean, with flights to Orlando in Florida also proving to be perennially popular.
If you can't find direct flights from the list above, then Birmingham offers a whole host of connections via most of the main European hub airports, or via New York or Dubai. In some cases, a cheaper direct flight from London may be available, although it is always worth considering the cost of getting to, and if necessary parking at, London airports before booking any flights.
Mark Says
Being based just down the road in Coventry, it is inevitable that I use Birmingham more than any other airport. It is usually a breeze to use, although I've experienced my fair share of queues during busy periods (quelle surprise!).
I just wish they'd improve the route network, although that is not exactly easy when you are squeezed between Manchester and Heathrow.
Birmingham Airport boasts the best location of any airport in the UK - right on the West Coast Mainline railway and just minutes from the M42, M40 and M6 motorways. The vast majority of the UK population can access it within a couple of hours.
Your Comments (11)
Hezzer
Rob Davis
Brum Baz
Donald Rutherford
Dan
Tom Grainer
James Avery
Deano
Baggie
Donnie D
But do you really think flights to Washington DC would work from Birmingham - I know they are re-starting from Manchester, but only with a 757, and there's lots of other through links with Star Alliance partners that way.
Surely there's enough choice of Washington flights from London already?
James Avery
Dulles Airport is a major hub for United, and also the DC Metro region has a lot of high tech industry. I don't think it is top of the list, but it should be a major city which can be reached without the runway extension.