Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport: Size, Scale, And Significance

Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, formerly Birmingham Municipal Airport and later Birmingham International Airport, is a civil-military airport serving Birmingham, Alabama. The airport is located in Jefferson County, five miles northeast of Downtown Birmingham, and is the largest and busiest airport in Alabama by passenger volume. The airfield can handle all aircraft types and has a main runway that is 12,007 feet long, with a secondary runway that is 7,099 feet long. The airport has one terminal building with three concourses and a total of 19 gates for passenger arrivals and departures.

Passenger volume and aircraft capacity

Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, formerly Birmingham Municipal Airport and later Birmingham International Airport, is Alabama's busiest airport by passenger volume. The airport served over 2.9 million commercial passengers in 2018 and 3,056,215 passengers in 2023.

The airport covers 2,170 acres (878 ha) at an elevation of 650 feet (198 m) above sea level. It has two asphalt runways: Runway 6/24, which is 12,007 feet (3,660 m) long, and Runway 18/36, which is 7,099 feet (2,164 m) long. The airfield can handle all types of aircraft, including large jets and turboprops.

Several airlines serve the airport, including Delta Airlines (along with its Delta Connection affiliates), Southwest Airlines, American Airlines' American Eagle affiliates, and United Airlines' United Express affiliates. The airport has three terminal concourses with a total of 19 gates for passenger arrivals and departures. Concourse A, with eight gates, is primarily used by Delta Airlines.

The airport is also a primary diversion airport for Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport due to its long runway, which occasionally brings brief but unique visitors. The single largest source of revenue for the Birmingham Airport Authority is parking fees. The authority operates a 7-story, 5,600-space parking deck for long and short-term parking, as well as a 900-space satellite lot with shuttle service to the terminal.

Airport elevation and acreage

Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, formerly Birmingham Municipal Airport and later Birmingham International Airport, covers 2,170 acres (878 hectares) at an elevation of 650 feet (198 metres) above mean sea level. The airport is Alabama's busiest commercial air passenger facility, serving over 2.9 million commercial passengers in 2018 and 3,056,215 passengers in 2023. It is the largest and busiest airport in Alabama by passenger volume.

The airport has two asphalt runways. The main runway, 6/24, is 12,007 feet (3,660 metres) long and 150 feet (46 metres) wide. The secondary runway, 18/36, is 7,099 feet (2,164 metres) long and 150 feet (46 metres) wide. These runways can handle all types of aircraft, including wide-body jets. The airport also has a 7-story, 5,600-space parking deck and a 900-space satellite lot.

The airport's history dates back to the 1920s when commercial air service to Birmingham began. The airport has undergone several renovations and expansions over the years, including a significant modernisation project completed in 2014 that nearly doubled its footprint. The airport is named after Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, a civil rights leader and the founding president of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights.

The airport is located in Jefferson County, five miles northeast of downtown Birmingham, near the interchange of Interstates 20 and 59. It serves the Birmingham and Tuscaloosa metropolitan areas and is a primary diversion airport for Atlanta Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport.

Runway lengths

Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, formerly Birmingham Municipal Airport and later Birmingham International Airport, has two runways. The main runway, Runway 6/24, is 12,007 ft (3,660 m) long and 150 ft (46 m) wide. The secondary runway, Runway 18/36, is 7,099 ft (2,164 m) long and 150 ft (46 m) wide.

In the early 1990s, Runway 18/36 was extended to 7,100 ft (2,164 m) to allow use by airline jets. In July 2007, an additional 2,000 ft (610 m) was added to Runway 6/24, bringing it to its current length and enabling a fully loaded Boeing 747 to land or take off.

In the early 2010s, Birmingham Airport undertook a project to further extend the length of its runways to accommodate longer-haul flights. The project, which was completed in early 2014, increased the length of the main runway by 405 metres (1,328 ft) to 3,003 metres (9,850 ft). This extension gave aircraft unlimited range from the Midlands, allowing them to take off with more fuel and fly direct to destinations such as China, South America, South Africa, and the West Coast of the US.

The runway extensions were part of a larger development plan for the airport, which included the construction of a new air traffic control tower and radar system, as well as resurfacing the entire runway. The total cost of the project was estimated to be £33 million (US$52 million). The airport's CEO, Paul Kehoe, highlighted the economic benefits of the extended runway, including the potential for increased passenger numbers and the creation of new jobs in the region.

Airlines and destinations

Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, formerly Birmingham Municipal Airport and later Birmingham International Airport, is located in Jefferson County, Alabama, five miles northeast of downtown Birmingham. The airport covers 2,170 acres (878 ha) at an elevation of 650 feet (198 m) above sea level. It has two asphalt runways: 6/24 and 18/36. The main runway, 6/24, is 12,007 feet (3,660 m) long, while the secondary runway, 18/36, is 7,099 feet (2,164 m) long.

The airport is served by five major airlines: American, Delta, Southwest, Spirit, and United. These airlines offer nonstop flights to 22 destinations across the country, including Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, Dallas Love Field, Tampa, Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Orlando, and New York LaGuardia Airport. BHM also serves as a distribution point for air cargo in Central Alabama, shipping more than 26,000 metric tons of cargo annually.

In addition to the major airlines, several other carriers operate at the airport. Southern Airways Express formerly offered on-demand charter flights to select cities using Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft. Mountain Air Cargo operates daily flights to Memphis using ATR-72 twin-turboprop aircraft on behalf of FedEx Express. FedEx and UPS also use wide-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 757-200 and Airbus A300-600F, respectively, to serve the airport routinely.

The airport is also a hub for corporate and international aviation. Corporate aircraft regularly depart and arrive from foreign destinations, and air ambulance operator AirMed International operates worldwide. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Delta Airlines stored several of its jets at BHM due to reduced travel demand.

Airport history

The history of Birmingham Airport can be traced back to the 1920s. In 1928, Birmingham City Council decided that the city required a municipal airport, and a committee was established to work towards this goal. Several locations were considered, including Shirley, Elmdon, and Aldridge, with Elmdon ultimately being chosen as the preferred site. However, the project faced delays due to spending cutbacks caused by the Great Depression.

On May 31, 1931, the $1 million Birmingham Airport, a two-story Georgian-style brick terminal surrounded by open fields and a single runway, opened to the public with day-long ceremonies and an air show. American Airways was the first airline to offer services from the airport, with a stop on its route from Atlanta, Georgia, to Fort Worth, Texas. By 1933, the airport project was revived, and a new airport committee was formed to oversee its establishment.

On July 8, 1939, the Duchess of Kent, Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, accompanied by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, officiated at the opening of Elmdon Airport. The airport was designed by Norman and Dawbarn in an Art Deco style and featured a terminal that incorporated the airport's air traffic control tower. However, its use as a civilian airport was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II, during which it was requisitioned by the Air Ministry and used by both the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Royal Navy as RAF Elmdon.

After the war, the airport returned to civilian operations in July 1946. In the following years, the airport continued to expand and improve its facilities. In 1961, an additional terminal building, known as The International Building, was opened to handle the growing international traffic. The main runway was extended to accommodate new services using turboprop and jet-powered airliners, and in 1967, a new service to New York using a VC-10 airliner was launched.

In the 1970s, a semi-circular terminal was completed, featuring 15 aircraft gates and a 1,600-space parking deck. The airport continued to attract new airlines, and by the early 1970s, it was handling around one million passengers per year. In 1984, the airport was home to the world's first commercial maglev system, a low-speed maglev shuttle that ran between the terminal and the nearby Birmingham International railway station.

In the 1990s, the airport underwent a $50.4 million terminal renovation, and the introduction of flights to Canada and Mexico led to its name change to Birmingham International Airport in October 1993. By 2000, the airport reached a record of 3 million passengers in a year, with 81 daily flights to various destinations.

In 2008, the airport was renamed Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport to honour Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, a civil rights leader. In 2011, the airport embarked on the Terminal Modernization Project, nearly doubling its footprint while minimising the impact on the community and environment. Today, the airport continues to be a major hub for passenger and commercial transportation, serving approximately 3 million passengers annually and contributing significantly to the local economy.

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