Researched and written 9 October 2026. Sources are listed at the end.
The airport
Birmingham Airport lies in the borough of Solihull, just north of Bickenhill village. It opened as Elmdon Airport on 8 July 1939, served as RAF Elmdon in the Second World War and reopened to civilian flights in 1946. In 2025 it handled 13.66 million passengers, the seventh busiest airport in the United Kingdom.
Coventry Airport at Baginton closed on 11 June 2026 and is being redeveloped for battery manufacturing, so Birmingham is now the airport most visitors to Coventry use.
By rail
An elevated Air-Rail Link carries passengers from the terminal to Birmingham International station on the West Coast Main Line, the same line that serves Coventry. Birmingham International also serves the National Exhibition Centre next door, so the station is busy on show days.
By road
The airport sits on the A45, close to junction 6 of the M42. The A45 runs east towards Coventry, where it becomes the Coventry Southern Bypass. Stoke Lodge and Stoke House are about 13 miles by road from the airport, Humber Hub about 14 miles and Sullivan Heights about 18 miles.
Arriving late
Every house has self check-in, so a late flight does not mean a late wait for keys. The arrival details are sent once a booking is confirmed. Parking is free at every house for a hire car.
Sources: Wikipedia: Birmingham Airport; Wikipedia: Coventry Airport; Wikipedia: Coventry; Wikipedia: National Exhibition Centre. Distances by road from each house, worked out on OpenStreetMap.
