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Birmingham Airport Family Travel Guide

As a continuing part of the Airport Guides, to help your journey start smoothly, I have now included Birmingham Airport. Birmingham Airport flies to over 150 destinations including Heraklion Airport in Crete – our destination this May. We opted for flying out of Birmingham as it is slightly closer now, plus regional airports are generally easier to navigate. Birmingham Airport is close to great transport links so it is very easy to get into the city too.

What facilities does Birmingham airport have?

• Airport Hotels For Families
• Parking (the airport website includes lots of parking and getting there information).
• Baby change
• Restaurants
• Shops -including Boots, Next & Spar
• Fast Track Security
• SkyZone kids area.
• Complimentary Strollers

Airport hotels for families

If you have an early start and a bit of a drive before, staying overnight at a hotel close to Birmingham Airport may appeal- especially with small children. There are six hotels to choose from.

Novotel – closest hotel to Birmingham Airport (on-site)

This 4-star on-airport hotel is directly across from the terminal. The Novotel has free Wifi and a gym, There is a Family Policy which enables up to 2 children (aged up to and including 15) to stay free (with breakfast) when sharing a room with adults. The hotel doesn’t have its own car park. The cheapest parking close by is Birmingham Airport Carpark 5 which is £35 for 24 hours.

Hilton Garden Inn – on site at Birmingham Airport

The Hilton Garden Inn is perfectly located next to the passenger terminal and conveniently near the train station, so has great transportation links. The hotel also has a fitness room, and onsite restaurant.

Ibis

Car Parking at Birmingham Airport

Flying with little ones can obviously raise the stress levels, and it is great to see that some airports are raising the bar when it comes to family travel. Family only security lines are becoming more commonplace and several larger airports even have soft play areas.

Parking and getting there

The Birmingham Airport site has a convenient online guide for travelling through the airport. We opted to arrive by car, but Birmingham airport is conveniently linked to Birmingham International station by an air-rail link shuttle which is free and only takes two minutes. If you are considering arriving by train- have a look at the GoEuro journey planner to see the quickest and cheapest options.

For parking, there are 5 car parks on site. Car parks 1, 2, 3  are only two minutes walk from the airport. Car park 4 is five minutes away and 5 is 10 minutes walk. Car park 7 is offsite with a 15-minute shuttle bus. Other options include drop and go, which is a 1-minute walk to the terminal or valet parking which is 2-minute walk way.

The options for Birmingham Airport car parking and drop off are:

• Valet parking – 1 minute walk from terminal. Car is parked in a Park Mark accredited car park.
• Car Park 1 – on site multi-storey car park, 1 minute walk from the terminal.
• Car Park 2 & 3 – on site multi storey car park, 1 minute walk from the terminal
• Car Park 4  – on site surface car park, 3- 5 minutes walk and free courtesy bus every 10 minutes.
• Car Park 5 – on site surface park, 5- 10 minutes walk and free courtesy bus every 10 minutes.
• Car Park 7 – on site surface car park, 5 – 10 minute free shuttle bus.
• Premium Set Down- for dropping off passengers. 1 minute walk from the terminal.

There are further on site and off-site parking options by other companies too.

Below are the car park companies which have the highest ratings. They are in order of closeness to the airport: Click here to see the latest prices.

• APH Park and Ride 5.2 miles from the airport – 20 minute transfer
• ACE Parking Meet and Greet – located on the airport.
• Maple Parking Meet and Greet – onsite
• Airparks Meet & Greet with car wash
• Stress Free Meet and Greet
• ShortRun by Airparks Imagine -1.1 miles from the airport/ 5 minute transfer

Shops which sell baby products, last minute necessities

Spar & Next and M&S

If you wanted to pick up some last minute snacks or perhaps some fresh milk for your baby for the flight, there is a Spar open 24 hours. it’s located before Security on the Ground Floor of North check in area. Once you land, you can always pop into M&S to get some supplies for the journey home too. Next also stocks kids clothes, if you need last minute emergency clothes!

Pre-ordering baby milk and other items from Boots Birmingham Airport

If you need baby milk or nappies, suntan lotion or almost anything from the Boots website (no sharp items etc), you can pre-order from Boots and collect after security in the Departure Lounge shop.

Which Boots store should I select?

Boots Birmingham International – Airside  (If you are flying Flybe or Ryanair select the South Departure store, please select this store if you are flying with Flybe or Ryanair. Birmingham Airport Airside is the North Departure Boots store, please select this for any other airline.) For more information on how to use this service, read my step by step guide here.

 

Child friendly restaurants

 

Feeding and Changing areas

There are plenty of changing areas in the airport.

Sensory areas

There are currently no sensory areas.

Airport Lounges

There are 4 lounges to choose from at Birmingham Airport.

• Aspire Lounge
• No 1 Lounge
• Aviance
• 4 Deck Lounge

Quiet areas to sleep or rest during transit

Not available.

Fast Track Security

The Express Lane Security pass could also help with a smoother journey. This can be pre–booked online for £3.75 per person or pay at the kiosk for £5 per person. Via Holiday Extras this can be booked from £3 per person. Express Lane entry can also be purchased at the kiosks before the entrance to Express Lane Security for £5 per person. Children under 5 go free! We used this service courtesy of Birmingham Airport and avoided longer queues.

 

SkyZone kids area

Before you head off, you may want to consider downloading this handy kids activity and fact booklet,  from the airport website. It explains the whole process of being at the airport. This could be especially useful for a nervous child or autistic child.

Although the airport doesn’t have a soft play, it does have a ‘SkyZone’ in each of the terminals – one by Gate 3 in the South Lounge and one by Gate 54 in the North Lounge. Games include :

Interactive Flight Deck kiosk to test your kids flying skills
Zoom’s Reaction Station, a fun game of speed and agility
SkyZone’s big screen TV
Coordination Station interactive pod
Security Spot Check game
Fly Pads touchscreen tables
Musical Mission Pod

 

Additionally, for kids (5+) , there is skyzoneonline.co.uk, a digital platform full of interesting airport facts. It allows kids to explore the airport, featuring animated videos and audio files explaining the inner workings of Birmingham Airport. Kids can watch and listen before they arrive at the airport, or whilst they’re waiting for their flight in the departure lounge.

 

A handy tip is to follow the airport on twitter @bhx_official for up to date information – good to know if there is a temporary closure of a car park or road!

Complimentary Strollers at Birmingham Airport

On arrival into Birmingham Airport, strollers are available. These pushchairs are available when you get off the plane to help with your journey to the baggage hall when you can collect your luggage. We found them after a short 5 minute walk. The pushchairs are coin operated with a £1 deposit  (currently the old pound coin) which is refundable at the pushchair return point located within the baggage hall.

Birmingham Airport’s website also provides useful destination guides, all the social media handles, shopping information and more!

Just some final information, luggage trolleys are free for departure but on arrival you will need to pay (£1) to use them. There is a machine at the baggage belt to pay for this service.

It was my first time flying through Birmingham Airport, and I found it a very pleasant experience. How did you find it?

 

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