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July 19, 2018Birmingham Airport Spotting Guide
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- last modified on August 16, 2019
Birmingham Airport (IATA: BHX, ICAO: EGBB) is located in Bickenhill (Solihull) and is 12.9 km East Southeast of the City Centre of Birmingham. The airport has had year on year growth, welcoming 13 million passengers in 2017 making it the seventh busiest airport in the UK. In July 2014 Birmingham Airport was the first outside London to operate direct flights to Beijing and this was a major milestone, with the first flight making use of the newly extended runway. In 2013 Monarch Engineering opened a new hangar which provides base maintenance for aircraft that use Birmingham Airport and third party customers. Recently Monarch Engineering have signed base maintenance contracts with Virgin Atlantic and Norwegian Airlines who often send in Boeing 787s for maintenance.
Flybe, Ryanair, Jet 2, TUI and Thomas Cook are the big players at BHX besides other European carriers such as Easyjet, Lufthansa and KLM. Intercontinental traffic is in the form of Emirates, Qatar and TUI. Recently low cost airline Primera Air have opened a new base at BHX but have suspended their transatlantic flights to New York and Toronto until 2019. Amongst the regular trafic there are some rare movements as sometimes Cavok Air and Ukraine Air Alliance send in Antonov 12s and sometimes Antonov 26s pay a visit. Also there are aircraft arriving for maintenance by Monarch Engineering these include; Virgin Atlantic, Norwegian, DHL and most recently Air Austral. During the summer at weekends British Airways Cityflyer operate flights to Spain and Italy using the Embraer 170 and 190 and Brussels Airlines send in the Sukhoi Superjets. VLM Airlines also send in Fokker 50s from Antwerp and Aberdeen regularly.
Written by Luke Richards (local spotter) and Clive Grant.
| Rating | |
| Movements |  |
| Airline Variety |  |
| Photo Locations | |
| Weather |  |
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| Airport Information | |
| Runways | |
| 15/33 | 3.052 m |
| Terminals | One for all movements |
| Spotting Information | |
| Ladder | May be handy at Spots 1 and 7, otherwise not needed. |
| Car/Public Transport | Useful to get to Spot 2. All others can be reached easily by public transport. |
| Restrooms | In the terminal landside there are free toilets. |
| Drinks/Food | In the terminal landside there are some restaurants as well as a Cafe Nero and Costa Coffee. Next to spot 2 there is a burger van, otherwise bring what you need. |
| Hotels | There are a couple of hotels with in the terminal area, a new Hilton Garden Inn Hotel is currently being constructed on the terminal site and is due to open in late 2018. There is a Holiday Inn and Travelodge next to the old terminal site and is handy for Spot 2. |
| Season | Saturdays and most days during the week are the best times to go during the winter and summer season. Most of the traffic appears in the summer as some flights are summer seasonal, however there are some interesting movements during the winter season. |
| Runway Usage | |
| 15/33 | There is only one runway in use and there are opportunities for photography of landing and departing traffic which ever end is in use. There is no preference for either Northerly or Southerly operations on Runway 15/33, so the runway end in use depends on the wind direction. |
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Spot #1 – Car Park 5 Viewing Area – Runway 33 arrivals and departures |
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| WHERE | This first location is an official viewing area and a 5 minute walk away from the terminal and very easy to find. From the terminal exit at entrance A (follow signs to check in desks 101-130) and turn right following signs to car park 5. Follow the public footpath running parallel to remote aircraft stands and the fuel farm on the right. Past the fuel farm you will see a bus type shelter and three picnic benches that is the viewing area. You can go to the southernmost corner of the parking for arrivals photos as the perimeter fence is below you at this position, so you have a clear sight. But security will ask you to leave and told you to go back to the official viewing area. |
| WHAT | Runway 33 arrivals and departures as well as departures from runway 15, some R15 departures may be high. RWY15 arrival views may be obscured because of the fuel farm but heavy aircraft exit in front of you. There is a small fence so 1-2 steps are helpful but you can also hold your camera through or over the mesh especially for taxiway photos. For arrivals it may be handy to have one or two steps but some times people do stand on the benches depending on the aircraft some are over the fence. |
| TIME | Best from sunrise till noon in the summer. In winter there is no light on this side. |
| MISC. | You can find everything you need in the terminal building. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 200 – 300 mm for landing, taxing shots 100 – 200 mm depending on size of aircraft. |
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Spot #2 – Elmdon Multi-Storey Car Park – runway 15/33 arrivals and departures |
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| WHERE | This spot is a well known location for spotters as the sun is behind you for most of the day, the top level offers great views of the cargo ramp and the stands for the VIP terminal and Monarch hangar can be seen as well. Located on the site of the old terminal it is best to get there by car or by local bus services from the airport. By car assuming you are leaving from spot 1 follow signs to the A45 towards Birmingham City Centre and Cargo Terminal follow the A45 until you come to a cross road and make sure you are in the right hand lane, the Holiday Inn hotel is to your right, once on Terminal Road follow the road round past the old terminal and the car park entrance is on your left. Go up to the second from top floor as the top is roped off to cars during the winter in the summer it open. There is a staircase in the far corner climb the stairs to reach the top floor. By bus catch the X1 to Birmingham City Centre and leave at the cargo terminal then head towards the car park past the Holiday Inn. Contactless payment is accepted on National Express West Midlands busses.+++ Update January 2019: The top level is closed for public permanently. You can use the level below but the view is quite limited due to trees etc+++ |
| WHAT | Best for RWY15 movements but RWY33 arrivals and departures can be photographed as well. Also views of the cargo, VIP and Monarch hangar parking stands can be seen. Views of the main terminal area can also be seen but some views are obstructed by an old hangar. This hangar also blocks the sight of the right part of the runway so you can photograph planes on the runway just from the back and no 90 degree shots are possible (see samples). |
| TIME | From noon till sunset all year round. |
| MISC. | There is a burger van behind the car park to get food and drink, restrooms use the Holiday Inn. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70 – 100 mm for aircraft parked |
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Spot #3 – Sheldon Country Park – 33 departures only |
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| WHERE | From Spot #4, walk around the western side of the airport boundary into the main area of the park. You can choose your preferred spot to suit the angle you like best.
Alternatively, if coming from the airport by car, take the A45 (Coventry Road) westwards, turning right onto Arden Oak Road at the Arden Oak Harvester. At the end of the road, turn right and first left onto Shepheard Road, and at the end turn right onto Whitecroft Road which then becomes Mapledene Road. After passing Mapledene Primary School on the right, turn right into Greenvale Avenue. The entrance to Sheldon Country Park is about 150 metres on the right, so park somewhere suitable in Greenvale Avenue and walk into the park to choose your spot. |
| WHAT | Departures from Runway 33 only. |
| TIME | From noon till sunset all year round. |
| MISC. | There is shade under the trees but no other facilities, so bring what you need. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | Up to 300mm should be fine for airliners depending on where you stand. |
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Spot #4 – Sheldon Country Park – Runway 15 arrivals and line ups |
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| WHERE | This is another well known spot for spotters, located at the end of runway 15 it is perfect for arrivals and departures from runway 15. It is a 4-5 minute walk from Marston green train station, if arriving by train from Birmingham City Centre. Then cross the footbridge (spot 5) and walk along platform 2 until you see a small exit, follow this path as it will lead you to an entrance to Sheldon Park from here follow the railway line which parallel to the right. Then follow the walk route shown on the map. By car, find a lot next to the train-station (spot 5) or at Hazeldene Rd (not checked) for free. |
| WHAT | Runway 15 arrivals and line ups. |
| TIME | All day as you can switch easily when the sun moves around. There are some benches further up the field in the afternoon it best to take photos from here as the sun is behind you. For the morning stand on top of some uneven ground to get landing and line up shots. |
| MISC. | Apart from a Newsagent and restroom at Marston Green, bring what you need as there are no facilities in the park. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 300-400mm depending on size of aircraft. |
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Spot #5 – Marston Green Train Station footbridge – Runway 15 arrivals and departures |
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| WHERE | This spot located at the Northern end of the train station which is in the village of Marston Green. It is best to arrive here by train using local rail services that stop here as some do not stop. By car, find a lot next to the train-station (spot 5) or at Hazeldene Rd (not checked) for free. |
| WHAT | Arrivals and departures on runway 15. |
| TIME | Best from sunrise till noon in the summer. In winter there is no light on this side. |
| MISC. | There are toilet facilities at the train station but you need to ask the ticket clerk for the key. There is a newsagent opposite the station where you can buy food and drink. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 200 – 300mm depending on size of aircraft. |
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Spot #6 – International Pier – Taxiway Delta/Echo movements |
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| WHERE | This spot requires a boarding pass in order to get to it. Located at the end of the international pier (gates 40-54) is a small seating area with a large window near gate 42, here you can photograph ground movements and aircraft taxing along taxiway Delta/Echo. There are some areas where photographs can be taken of aircraft parked at gates 45-47 and of gate 56-57 as well as the remote 70s and 80s stands but some gates have pre boarding areas so views are restricted. |
| WHAT | Taxiway Delta/Echo movements |
| TIME | Early morning as the sun will be behind you and not in front but it all depends on what time your flight is. |
| MISC. | Everything you need is in the departures lounge |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 70 – 100 mm depending on size of aircraft |
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Spot #7 – Old viewing area location – remote 20s stands and taxiway |
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| WHERE | Located further up from spot one, this location is where the old viewing area used to be, follow the same route to spot one but don’t go past the fuel farm. Parts of the fence have windbreakers fitted restricting views but if you are lucky there may be some gaps offering reasonable views of aircraft parked on the remote 20s stands. If you carry on walking towards the fuel farm you find there are no windbreakers in the fence this is where you can get photos of Flybe/Ryanair and aircraft turning onto taxiway Echo. |
| WHAT | Ryanair/Flybe movements, taxiway Echo movements as well as aircraft parked on the remote 20s stands. Aircraft requiring attention by Monarch Engineering sometimes park on stand 25. |
| TIME | Depends on what you wanna photograph but usually all day as the sun will be behind you. |
| MISC. | Everything you need is in the terminal. |
| FOCAL LENGTH | 20 – 70mm for parked aircraft 75 – 300 mm for taxing aircraft |
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