Location:
The aircraft presented in this section are all operating at Birmingham International Airport (BHX) located at Elmdon, near Solihull, Birmingham. At the time of writing BHX is the origin for 310 departures per week travelling to 150 destinations. The single runway has recently been extended by 400m to 3003m overall, which accommodates the largest airliners, including the Airbus 380.
Birmingham International is the 7th largest airport in the UK, and 12,639,340 passengers used the airport in 2019. A single runway (33/15) is used at BHX which equates to NNW to SSE, which is normally used in a S to N direction with the approach typically routed over Warwick to the airport.
Context:
Airport Operations began with Elmdon Airport being established, southeast of Solihull and opened in 1939 for commercial operations. The Airport was immediately used for Pilot Training as well as aircraft flight testing, from the outset of World War 2. Also, Elmdon Airport was used as a delivery base for Stirling and Lancaster bombers. There were originally two operational runways, that replaced the original grass airstrip, being 33/15 and 06/24, the former roughly North/South and the latter Southwest/Northeast. Use of runway 06/24 was discontinued in 2008.
Elmdon Airfield was used as a Flight Training School for the RAF and the Fleet Air Arm (Navy) during the second World War. In addition, flight testing of aircraft was carried out, as well as deliveries of Stirling and Lancaster bombers. These bombers were manufactured at the Austin Aero company’s facility at Cofton Hackett, near Longbridge, where no suitable airfield was available. The aircraft, with wings removed, were transported by road and the wings attached at Elmdon Airport.
Elmdon Airport recommenced commercial operations in 1949, with the introduction of British European Airways flights to Paris and more scheduled flights were introduced between 1955 and 1960 to destinations such as Zurich, Dusseldorf, Palma, Amsterdam and Barcelona. Also, in this period the growth of chartered airlines took place and many tour operators became based at Elmdon Airport.
Initially the passenger operations were handled in a purpose-built terminal on the west side of the airport, which became the International Terminal in 1961, before being replaced by the new terminal at the east side, in 1984.
The airport is nowadays known as Birmingham Airport (BHX) and handles 12.64 Million passengers each year, making BHX the 7th largest airport in the UK (after London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Luton and Edinburgh). The current passenger terminal (East) opened in 1984. The old passenger terminal (West) and hangars are now used for cargo and maintenance operations.
The usual final approach is from the South and overflies Daventry, Warwick, Balsall Common and Hampton in Arden. From the North the approach overflies Walsall, Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield.
The main runway was extended in 1967 and 2014, the runway length is now 3003m and can accommodate the largest airliners. A daily Emirates flight operates to Dubai using an Airbus A380. The airport is used by up to 50 airlines and the longest flights originating at BHX are to USA/Canada, Middle East and Asia (India and Pakistan).
At one time there was a viewing facility close to the top of the BHX terminal building but this has long been closed, probably for security reasons. Access to either end of the BHX runway is straightforward and provides good locations for photography. The best time to visit is 11am to 3pm which is usually the busiest time of the day, enabling the Emirates A380 to be photographed on arrival and departure, as well as a good selection of other aircraft. Shooting aircraft images is a “one off shot” and the photographer needs to be alert and proactive to get quality images. It’s a good photographic exercise, as well as being an enthralling subject.
Rick Spurgeon, 08-Jan-2021
Aircraft Contact Sheet for Reference:
