Why go
- City in the West Midlands, England.
- Served by Birmingham Airport (BHX).
History
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the centre of the West Midlands region of England. It is the largest local authority district in England by population and the second-largest city in Britain – commonly referred to as the second city of the United Kingdom – with a population of 1.2 million people in the city proper in 2024. Birmingham is the centre of the ceremonial West Midlands county, and borders the Black Country to its west and, together with the city of Wolverhampton and towns including Walsall, West Bromwich, Dudley and Solihull, forms the West Midlands conurbation. The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield is incorporated within the city limits to the north and northeast. Birmingham's urban area has a population of 2.7 million and its wider metropolitan area has a population of 4.3 million. The city of Coventry lies to the east of the city, separated by the Meriden Gap. The cathedral city of Lichfield lies to the north of the city, separated by the M6 Toll.
Airports
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 26 airlines, 81 direct destinations
- Monarch Airlines ZB (A321, A320) · 25 routes: Alicante, Almeria, Arrecife, Barcelona, Bodrum, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gibraltar, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Hurghada, Larnaca, Malaga, Menorca, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Rome, Sharm El Sheikh, Split, Tenerife, Venice
- Flybe BE (Embraer 175, Dash 8-400, Embraer 195) · 22 routes: Aberdeen, Alicante, Amsterdam, Belfast, Cologne, Connaught, Dubrovnik, Duesseldorf, Edinburgh, Florence, Glasgow, Guernsey, Hannover, Inverness, Isle Of Man, Jersey, Lyon, Milano, Paris, Porto, Stuttgart, Waterford
- Ryanair FR (737-800) · 21 routes: Alicante, Arrecife, Barcelona, Bratislava, Bydgoszcz, Dublin, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gdansk, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Katowice, Kaunas, Krakow, Londonderry, Malaga, Malta, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Reus, Tenerife
- Transavia France TO (75W, 737-800) · 19 routes: Alicante, Antalya, Arrecife, Boa Vista, Bodrum, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Enfidha, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Izmir, Larnaca, Marrakech, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife
- Thomsonfly BY (75W, 737-800) · 9 routes: Antalya, Arrecife, Boa Vista, Dalaman, Enfidha, Fuerteventura, Palma de Mallorca, Sharm El Sheikh, Tenerife
- Thomas Cook Airlines MT (757-200, A321) · 8 routes: Antalya, Arrecife, Dalaman, Enfidha, Fuerteventura, Larnaca, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife
- Lufthansa Cargo LH (A319, A320, A321, 737-300, 757-200, CRJ-900…) · 4 routes: Duesseldorf*, Frankfurt, Munich*, Newark*
- Aer Lingus EI (ATR 72, A320, AT4) · 3 routes: Cork*, Dublin, Shannon*
- Air France AF (A319, A320, Embraer 175) · 2 routes: Lyon*, Paris
- Germanwings 4U (A319, CRJ) · 2 routes: Berlin, Hamburg
- Scandinavian Airlines System SK (A319, A320, 717, CRJ-900) · 2 routes: Copenhagen, Stockholm
- United Airlines UA (757-200, Dash 8-400) · 2 routes: Brussels*, Newark
- Air India Limited AI (787-8) · 1 route: Delhi
- Air Malta KM (A319, A320) · 1 route: Malta
- Air Sicilia BM (ERJ-145) · 1 route: Gothenborg
- Brussels Airlines SN (Dash 8-400, AR1) · 1 route: Brussels
- Condor Flugdienst DE (757) · 1 route: Arrecife*
- Eastern Airways T3 (J32) · 1 route: Newcastle
- easyJet U2 (A319) · 1 route: Belfast
- Emirates EK (777-300ER) · 1 route: Dubai
- KLM Royal Dutch Airlines KL (737, EMJ) · 1 route: Amsterdam
- Pakistan International Airlines PK (777) · 1 route: Islamabad
- Qantas QF (777-300ER) · 1 route: Dubai*
- Swiss International Air Lines LX (Fokker 100, AR1) · 1 route: Zurich
- Turkish Airlines TK (737-800, 737-900) · 1 route: Istanbul
- Turkmenistan Airlines T5 (757-200) · 1 route: Ashkhabad
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Regional airports
Further out, but often the cheapest way in — the airports the low-cost carriers use. Each links to its own town's guide for getting from there into the city.
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 10 airlines, 57 direct destinations
- Ryanair FR (737-800) · 37 routes: Alicante, Almeria, Arrecife, Barcelona, Bergamo, Bergerac, Berlin, Carcassonne, Chania, Connaught, Cork, Dinard, Dublin, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gerona, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Kerkyra/corfu, Krakow, La Rochelle, Limoges, Malaga, Menorca, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Pisa, Reus, Rhodos, Riga, Rome, Rzeszow, Tenerife, Treviso, Valencia, Warsaw, Wroclaw
- Jet2.com LS (737-300, 737-800) · 20 routes: Alicante, Arrecife, Bodrum, Budapest, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Heraklion, Ibiza, Malaga, Menorca, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Paris, Prague, Rhodos, Tenerife
- Transavia France TO (737-800) · 13 routes: Alicante, Arrecife, Dalaman, Enfidha, Faro, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Larnaca, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Rhodos, Tenerife
- Monarch Airlines ZB (A321) · 7 routes: Alicante, Arrecife, Faro, Malaga, Malta, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife
- Flybe BE (Dash 8-400) · 5 routes: Amsterdam, Belfast, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey
- Thomas Cook Airlines MT (A321) · 5 routes: Arrecife, Dalaman, Enfidha, Fuerteventura, Tenerife
- Thomsonfly BY (737-800) · 5 routes: Arrecife, Enfidha, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Tenerife
- Air Sicilia BM (ER3) · 1 route: Brussels
- Aurigny Air Services GR (ATR 72) · 1 route: Guernsey
- Eastern Airways T3 (J41) · 1 route: Aberdeen
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Getting there by ferry
Where things are
Photographs
credit: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · See source page
When to go
The warmer, longer-day half of the year is the safest bet for a first visit.
Cooler and quieter, with fewer visitors and better value.
Short days and the coldest weather — check local conditions before travelling.
Getting there & around
Getting there. The nearest airport on record is Birmingham Airport (BHX). Check rail and road links from the tourism sources below. By air: BHX has direct flights to 81 destinations on 26 airlines (incl. Arrecife, Fuerteventura, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife, Alicante…). By water: 5 ferry terminals within 12 mi (nearest: The Mailbox Water Bus Stop, 0.5 mi); routes include Water Bus, Water Bus 1: Brindleyplace <=> The Mailbox (Via Sherbourne Wharf).
Getting around. Use the map above to orient yourself; nearby hotels, attractions and places to eat are listed from the live Ultimate data for Birmingham, United Kingdom. Local transit details will be added as the guide is expanded.
Trains & rail
Coaches & shuttles
Private aviation
On-demand charter, jet cards and the semi-private scheduled carriers that serve this city.