Birmingham International Airport

[Blazer85]

The 2,000ft runway expansion was officially dedicated today in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Sen. Shelby pointed out the importance of this for both national defense as well as economic development. Sen. Shelby also pledged to continue with efforts to upgrade and expand the current terminal facility.

[Blazer85]

So far in January to May, Birmingham Intl has had 1,263,426 people pass through the gates (about 35,000 more people than this time last year).

[Blazer85]

There are some rumors/rumblings that Birmingham's other runway (runway 18/36) will undergo a study in the near future about lengthening that runway towards the north. Personally, I think it will be needed for the future growth of our airport to have 2 runways of at least 10,000ft. I'm not sure that they would expand runway 18/36 to 10,000ft, but I would assume that's the likely value since it is currently around 7,100ft or so.

[Blazer85]

Birmingham International continues to be unusually active. I just came back to Birmingham through there today and it was pretty packed.

Also appears they've released their June numbers and air traffic was up 5% in June.

From January to June, approximately 1,560,645 have passed through the gates... that's about 50,000 more than the same time last year.

Edited August 14, 2007 by Blazer85

[Blazer85]

Continental Airlines has announced plans to add two daily nonstop flights from Birmingham to their Cleveland hub.

[Architect]

Birmingham International continues to be unusually active. I just came back to Birmingham through there today and it was pretty packed.

Also appears they've released their June numbers and air traffic was up 5% in June.

From January to June, approximately 1,560,645 have passed through the gates... that's about 50,000 more than the same time last year.

Is that both boardings and deplanements, or just enplanements (boardings)?

By the way, I was just in your fair city this past weekend passing through for the Arkansas-Alabama game....what a great game (though my Hogs lost on the last play!). Everyone was very nice to our family during our trip.

[convulso]

By the way, I was just in your fair city this past weekend passing through for the Arkansas-Alabama game....what a great game (though my Hogs lost on the last play!). Everyone was very nice to our family during our trip.

good to hear (about the hospitality; not the razorbacks' loss).

sometimes i feel that southern hospitality is the luck of the draw in bham (and much of the urban south in general). when it's there, man, is it ever there...but there are times when i recall how consistently well i've been treated by strangers in california or texas, compared to the sporadic hospitality evident in the paths i've crossed throughout my life here in 'bama. i'm very happy you experienced the good! i think my jaded mind takes it for granted here sometimes.

...and FWIW, i've been welcomed warmly by strangers in ft. smith, fayetteville and pine bluff on numerous trips through AR.

airports! flying! i always manage to do this to these topics.

[j.midtown]

But, I'm not gonna say it's impossible for an airline to remove hub status from Atlanta. It could very well happen. AirTran seems like the more likely one to do so. Traffic through ATL is going to increase, we cannot prevent that, so, eventually, an airline is going to want to get out of the congestion, and it's not gonna be Delta. The more likely situation would be that AirTran created a secondary, or "joint" hub out of Birmingham. As in, they cut the traffic through ATL in half, and put it on BHM. That seems like it MIGHT happen. Birmingham would stand to gain the most from removal of hub status of any airport in the Southeast.

I'm afraid the idea of AirTran abandoning or splitting operations in Atlanta is just wishful thinking. They are "headquartered" in Orlando basicly in name-only (some 50 HQ staff there) with Atlanta their primary hub accounting for 66% of their system operations. They have second most operations of any airline at ATL. Atlanta is also where their training center is, as well as a 56,700 hangar with a lease until 2024. AirTran is as tied to Atlanta as Delta is and splitting a hub makes little sense from an efficiency standpoint.

As should be obvious from their failed bid for Midwest, the next hub they want to establish will be in the midwest to increase their national presence.

[DRJWAREAGLE]

Does anyone know absolutly anything about the airport's expansion. I know there are plans for terminal renovation and i've heard they are adding another concourse. When is it set to start? And can the airport attract more flights and a few international flights. I wonder if there are any documents or renderings?

[kayman]

PUSH FOR INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS

It seems that BHM is making major plans to land a couple of direct international flights. The BIA board which includes Gov. Riley, has confirmed that the state will assist them in improving and establishing the infastructure need to make the facility capable of handling the flights. This infastructure includes a larger terminal that is the initials plans will be completed by the latter part of this year, a U.S. customs office, and a large storage facility to receive and send cargo and luggage from long distance destinations.

Riley noted that this push towards landing direct international flights would be instrumental to the boosting the economic ties and recruiting business from other parts of the world to Alabama. I must agree, and add that this would help Birmingham make a name for itself in the international business arena. It also open the door for Birmingham to have direct links to Germany, Japan, and South Korea with the 3 auto production facilities located nearby.

[Blazer85]

Birmingham International set a new record for passenger traffic in a year.

Over the course of 2007, approximately 3,222,689 passengers came through Birmingham International Airport. That bests the old record (set in 2005) by about 100,000.

Keep it growing!

[rolltider]

Birmingham International set a new record for passenger traffic in a year.

Over the course of 2007, approximately 3,222,689 passengers came through Birmingham International Airport. That bests the old record (set in 2005) by about 100,000.

Keep it growing!

This is great news and should leave no doubt that renovation, upgrade and expansion of the terminal is needed.

Are there any projections for passenger activity at the airport over the next 10 years?

[Blazer85]

January 2008 numbers... 234,931 passengers passed through Birmingham International Airport. That's a 4.5% increase from January 2007. Looks like we're on pace for another record-breaking year at the airport. Now if only we could get the expansion/modernization plan underway.

[Blazer85]

Today, it was announced that Continental Airlines will be adding 2 new non-stop flights from Birmingham to Cleveland.

In a time with such a bad economic outlook and so many bad economic indicators, I find this to be good news that flights are continuing to be added at Birmingham International Airport. In fact, the airport continues to grow at a pretty steady rate and has set numerous records in terms of passenger traffic over the last year or so. Hopefully they'll get going on the new expansion/modernization of the terminal.

[Blazer85]

The passenger numbers for February were released today. During the month of February, BHM saw 235,174 passengers through its gates. That is about a 9% increase from February of 2007.

[Blazer85]

April's passenger traffic numbers are out and records continue to be set. April 2008 saw the 13th consecutive month of increasing passenger traffic. Approximately 272,399 passed through BHM during the month of April.

From January-April of 2008, over 1 million passengers have come through the gates at BHM... up more than 5% from a year ago.

[kayman]

Well, it is official the Birmingham International Airport has been renamed the Birmingham Shuttlesworth International Airport, and the only step left is the approval from the Federal Aviation Administration.

[kayman]

Although Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International has seen another month where the annual passengers that used the airport has decline 14% since this time last year, the Airport Authority is moving forward with the estimated $193.3M plan to renovate the terminal. KPS has been selected as the designers of the plan called the Terminal Modernization Program for its 36-year-old facility.

[Southron]

Although Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International has seen another month where the annual passengers that used the airport has decline 14% since this time last year, the Airport Authority is moving forward with the estimated $193.3M plan to renovate the terminal. KPS has been selected as the designers of the plan called the Terminal Modernization Program for its 36-year-old facility.

Are any preliminary drawings available?

[kayman]

Are any preliminary drawings available?

Not yet, I've searched a number of places including the airport's site and no prelimiaries.