Birmingham Airport Parking - Airport History

On the 8th of July 1939, just before the beginning of World War II, Birmingham International Airport opened. The first scheduled flight from the Airport used the short haul airliner the Dragon Rapide. Later in 1939 the Air Ministry took control of Birmingham Airport due to the outbreak of war. Civil flights from the airport were suspended until 1946. During the Air Ministry's time in charge of the airport two hard runways were constructed.

In 1960 the Air Ministry relinquished control of the airport to the City of Birmingham. Flights to New York commenced in 1971 but this route proved to be unpopular and therefore ceased in October 1972. In the years following the terminal building was expanded, as was the runway, to accommodate increase passenger levels.

Following an extensive public enquiry in 1979 approval was granted to build a new terminal near the newly constructed NEC. Her Majesty the Queen opened the new terminal building in 1984. The new terminal gave the fast growing airport an annual passenger capacity of 3 million which provided much better accommodation for the Airport's exponential growth.

Following the construction of the new terminal building earlier in the decade, a new cargo facility was opened in 1986 at the site of the old terminal. In 1987 ownership of Birmingham Airport was transferred from the City of Birmingham to the newly created entity Birmingham International Airport Plc. Birmingham Airport opened its second Terminal, the Eurohub, in 1991. This was the first terminal in the world to combine both domestic and international passengers.

In 2000 Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh opened the newly re-developed terminal which had cost £40 million and provided a 2 storey arrival concourse. It also linked the two terminals for the first time. Following further increases in passenger numbers Birmingham International Airport is acknowledged by a government white paper as the most sensible option in the Midlands for expansion due to the rising number of passengers (up to 9 million) and for the locations access to the rest of the country via both motor way and rail links. In 2005 in response to the endorsement the airport publishes their plans for sustainable expansion entitled Towards 2030: Planning a Sustainable Future for Air Transport in the Midlands. The report outlines the plans to off-set growing public concern for the environmental impact of the aviation industry vs. the economic need to expand and develop international transport links to the Midlands.