Important Updates
COVID-19 Update
COVID-19
The latest guidance from Public Health England
We appreciate that this is a worrying time and if you’re due to travel from Birmingham Airport you may want to know what the latest advice is.
If you are travelling through Birmingham Airport, we urge you to please practice social distancing to reduce the spread of the virus. This means keeping 2 metres (6ft) apart from other people. Please respect the space around our staff and comply with their requests when contact is necessary to complete security processes.
For the latest advice from Public Health England regarding COVID-19 can be found here
Travel Advice
Many airlines have now cancelled and grounded flights due to the pandemic and will contact customers booked with them to advise of the options.
The Foreign Office has updated its travel guidance, advising against all non-essential travel worldwide and urging British Nationals to return to the UK now. Citizens who decide that travel abroad is essential should be fully aware of the increased risks of travel. That includes the risk that they may not be able to get home, if travel restrictions are put in place.
Those who are permanent resident overseas are not being advised to return to the UK, but to follow the advice of the local authorities in their host country. The advice can be found here.
Additional travel advice can be found on the CAA’s website here
Please contact your travel company or airline if you have specific queries; however please be aware they are experiencing high volumes of enquiries.
Cleaning procedures at Birmingham Airport
We understand that our customers may be interested in the measures we have put in place to look after our colleagues and the public. Protecting our passengers is always our main priority and we would like to reassure you that our on-site teams continue to keep the airport clean, with an increase to our already thorough cleaning procedures. Our teams are paying particular attention to disinfecting surfaces, door handles, security trays and any areas deemed to be regular ‘touchpoints’.
Individual sanitiser units have been installed throughout the customer journey, in addition to dedicated sanitiser stations at each terminal door entrance, and prior to our security and immigration screening areas. Customer facing staff have been provided with gloves to allow them to safely continue to perform their critical roles.
Posters are in place around the terminal to remind passengers to adhere to the government’s social distancing guidelines and remain 2 metres away from one another.
We ask all passengers to continue to adhere to the government advice as best as they can whilst visiting our airport.
TfWM Public Transport Changes
TfWM are advising to not travel on public transport unless it is essential. This is to stop the spread of the Coronavirus, protect the NHS and save lives. When making essential journeys, keep your distance. Social distancing is important to keep passengers and staff safe.
TfWM and operators are working together to maintain services for key workers and those who need it most. The frequency of bus, train and tram services will be reviewed and changed regularly to meet the needs of these key groups at this unprecedented time. Visit TfWM's website for the latest updates.
There will be free travel on bus and tram services for NHS staff in the West Midlands by showing your ID card from Friday 3rd April. Further information on this can be found here.
Air Rail Link
We are going to be suspending the operation of the Air Rail Link with effect from 1st April and also the bus from the staff car park. This decision has been taken due to falling passenger numbers and to ensure the safety of our customers with regards to social distancing on the Air Rail Link.
A replacement bus service will be provided from the BII and also the front of the terminal which will run continually throughout the day. Bus Stop C from the terminal and Bus Stop NB at the train station.
Shops, Restaurants, Hotels and Car Hire Operators
As many airlines have now cancelled and grounded flights due to the Covid-19 pandemic there are a limited number of retail and catering units open at the airport:
Landside, before security, Spar and Boots in the arrivals area are open. Spar is open from 11am – 5pm and The Boots store is open from 8.30am – 5pm.
Airside, after security, the Boots store in the Departure Lounge remains open from 8.30am – 5pm.
Most of our car hire operators continue to operate, albeit on reduced hours, from the cabins in Car Park 4.
The Novotel, Hilton Garden Inn, Ibis and Ibis Budget hotels are currently closed and not taking any future bookings.
Parking booking condition changes
Following the World Health Organization (WHO) labelling the coronavirus outbreak as a pandemic, we removed all non-flexible products from our Birmingham Airport Parking selection on 12th March 2020.
With uncertainty around travel planning at a peak, Birmingham Airport, in association with leading parking operator NCP, is pleased to announce that customers booking parking at any of our six car parks from 12th March 2020 will be able to amend or cancel their booking up to 2 hours before arrival without incurring any penalty fees or service charges. In these challenging times, customers have one less thing to worry about and will now have peace of mind knowing they can amend or cancel a parking booking and receive a no-quibble refund up to 2 hours before arrival.
Customers who made non-flexible bookings, for example Saver products, before 12th March 2020 can apply for a promo code to the value of their existing booking, to be used at a later stage if their flight or trip are cancelled by the airline or tour operator, or if they decide not to travel due to fears over the virus. The promo code will be valid for 12 months from the date of issue. Please email [email protected] with your booking reference number and contact details to request your promo code. We will get back in touch with you as soon as possible.
Please avoid calling or emailing to follow up on your code unless you are due to travel in the next 72 hours. The NCP team is dealing with every customer enquiry as quickly as possible but are experiencing unprecedented levels of contact at the moment which is impacting their response time. They will get back to all customers in due course and ask you to bear with them as they are prioritising those whose immediate travel plans have been impacted. Thank you for your patience and understanding at this time.
Lounge, Express Lane and Premium Fast Track Arrivals bookings
Please note that Lounge, Express Lane and Premium Fast Track made on our website are not able to be refunded or cancelled. We have, however, agreed with our Lounge partners, Swissport (operators of Aspire Lounge) and No1 Lounges (operators of No1 Lounge and Clubrooms), that they will continue to accept amendments to bookings.
In addition, customers can receive a credit voucher for the value of their existing booking, to be used at a later stage if their flight or trip are cancelled by the airline or tour operator, or if they decide not to travel due to fears over the virus. Please email [email protected] with your booking reference number and contact details to arrange this. We will get back in touch with you as soon as possible.
Please avoid calling or emailing to follow up on your voucher. The NCP team is dealing with every customer enquiry as quickly as possible but are experiencing unprecedented levels of contact at the moment which is impacting their response time. They will get back to all customers in due course and ask you to bear with them as they are prioritising those whose immediate travel plans have been impacted.
Thank you for your patience and understanding at this challenging time.
Temporary Mortuary Facility at Birmingham Airport
We are working with the authorities to provide land and a hangar for a temporary mortuary site at the Elmdon side of Birmingham Airport, to support with the Covid-19 pandemic. This site is in a controlled area, away from, and out of sight, of our main passenger terminal. The mortuary is anticipated to accommodate the deceased from across the region, including those not related to Coronavirus. We will do our utmost to support this multi-agency response during these difficult times.