Does anyone have experience of arriving at Birmingham airport on an international flight? I'm travelling onwards by train, wondering whether 1hr 20 will be enough to get out and to the station (assuming flight is on time, obvs), or whether to stump up the extra £40 for an anytime ticket. Any STW experience/horror stories of 3 hour queues at passport control?
Probably depends on if it's post Brexit, your nationality, skin colour and whether you have a blue passport...
Are you checking a bag in? Sometimes the wait for bags can be long. If it was me I’d buy the flexible rail ticket.
Did it at New Year, arriving from France. Kids couldn’t use the auto barriers so all the families were penned up, lots of tantrums, crying etc, and that was just the parents. Thoroughly recommend flex ticket (or flying somewhere else).
Thanks, I'll probably go hand luggage and travelling alone, but will treat myself. Sounds like it'll be money well spent.
Birmingham has the slowest baggage handlers I've found in any UK airport - consistently so
Travelling into small airports like Birmingham is a dream. I should think 1hr 20mins will be fine, though I've not gone to the train station for a good few years so not sure how long that takes these days. When I get into Birmingham from the time of wheels touching down into the tarmac to my backside on the sofa of my livingroom 40 miles away is about an hour. Literally i'm off the aircraft and through the airport in 10 to 15 minutes easy. Obviously not waiting for any luggage, so carry on only.
Hand luggage only I think you’ll be fine, any hold luggage and you’re stuffed.
yep, last return flight to birmingham, we were waiting around 2 hrs for bags. its a big consideration when booking hols now, NOT to fly from there.
Absolutely no reason why any airport should be better or worse than any other regarding baggage. I've had to wait for bags at all manner of airports, and sometimes at the same airport they're already on the belt by the time I've got through immigration and muscled my way to the belt. All depends on how busy the airport is, whether the baggage handlers are having a mandated break or a union meeting or just on go slow to 'stick it to da management', the weather - in bad weather and electrical storms they'll cease work, there might be an issue at the aircraft end causing a delay, to them starting to get bags off, security checks etc. All manner of potential things can delay the bags. No airport anywhere in the world is immune to any or all of these issues and usually you're far better off at a smaller airport than a larger one where you have a higher chance of not getting your bags back at all.
Does anyone have experience of arriving at Birmingham airport on an international flight? I’m travelling onwards by train, wondering whether 1hr 20 will be enough to get out and to the station
No probs ime. Was there earlier this month it's not as International as you might think. Passport and baggage is same as everywhere else then it's a short walk from arrivals to the train shuttle which is *always* just arriving then 5 mins to the train station which looks great in its Virgin finery but is basically the same as any English provincial station. There's a handful of gates and a cheery assistant advising old people which way to insert their ticket and then you wait at the platform which is pure 1960s hell hole.
yep, last return flight to birmingham, we were waiting around 2 hrs for bags.
Those bags aren't going to rob themselves.
I fly into and out from Birmingham every month, best of the bad lot. Much better than Luton and Heathrow.
Much better than Luton and Heathrow.
Well, that's not hard, to be fair. Those are worse than any airport I have seen, including CdG (which takes some doing). Santiago is the worst of the rest, but not really an issue if you live in Birmingham 🙂
Yeah, I'm hoping it's not as awful as Luton airport. That is one of the worst places in the world.
My Dad raves about East Midlands airport. Totally loves it. I've never had a reason to go through it, but it sounds wonderful.
My Dad raves about East Midlands airport. Totally loves it. I’ve never had a reason to go through it, but it sounds wonderful.
It is. Car park->terminal->runway. That's it
My Dad raves about East Midlands airport. Totally loves it. I’ve never had a reason to go through it, but it sounds wonderful.
yep, our second fave, behind doncaster..... just like walking in and out of a shop 😀
We're flying out next Tuesday morning. We've already done online check-in and paid for the Express security lane. We have hold luggage, despite all of the above how long before the gates closing should we arrive to check our baggage in? is 1 hour before take-off pushing it? We're flying with Jet2
The last few times I've been through security through Birmingham it's only taken about 10-15 minutes.
We flew with Jet2 in November and the desk checkin took about 5 minutes.
If your flight comes in just after an Emirates or PIA then you’ll have a long wait at passport control