Landing at Birmingham Airport

What BHX is like

Birmingham serves the middle of England, handling European routes and a few long-haul ones. A lot of people who land here are not visiting the city itself: they have come for the exhibition halls next door, or because trains from this point reach a long list of other towns. The terminal is not large and you are outside quickly. Its defining feature is the short automated link that carries you across to the railway station in a couple of minutes, which ties the airport into the national rail network more tightly than its size suggests.

On arrival

Switch the data line on at landing so it is ready when you have to show an onward ticket. The border and the baggage belt are a short walk from the gates, so the gap between the aircraft door and the arrivals hall is much shorter than at a big hub. From the hall a walkway leads to the automated link that crosses to the railway station, a ride of only a few minutes that runs often enough to ignore the timetable. The moment you arrive you are on the national rail network, which can mean choosing a service and a platform within minutes. Having the route already open before you board the link saves a scramble.

How far the airport Wi-Fi gets you

The airport Wi-Fi is free after registration and covers the passenger areas well enough, but the shape of the journey here takes you out of range fast. Neither the automated link nor the railway platform is airport network, and this is a busy through station where the platform can change close to departure. That is precisely the moment you want a connection you can rely on rather than a sign-in page to find again. With a line already working, a last-minute platform change is a minor thing instead of a problem.

Getting into town

From the station beside the airport, trains reach central Birmingham in a little over ten minutes, and the city station fans out to towns in every direction. Visitors to the exhibition halls across from the airport barely need a train at all, since the link drops them within walking distance. By car the route in runs on motorways that clog badly at peak hours. The data cost of the leg is tiny because the ride is so short, mostly a timetable app and a map for the walk at the other end. Plenty of people use Birmingham as a first stop before flying on to the continent in the same trip, so check that the connectivity you arranged covers the next country as well.

What people ask about this airport

• The rail link is very short: It takes only a couple of minutes and runs often, so there is no timetable to read, just signs to follow out of arrivals.
• Recheck the platform at the station: This is a busy through station and platforms can change close to departure, so read the board before you go down the stairs.
• The exhibition halls are next door: If you are here for a conference or trade fair you may never need the city at all, which changes how you choose a hotel.