Despite the horrible weather, I’ve been to the Birmingham airport area to practice a bit of aircraft spotting (ish). In fact, it was just a little taste of what can be landing or taking off at Birmingham on a very windy day. It’s known some footage of those turbulent landings and taking off are frequently on the news for this particular reason.
It was a very cold and rainy Sunday but we weren’t alone there and I could spot some other curious people (and children) taking photos and making videos as well. It’s fascinating indeed.
As we know, aeroplane spotting is a quite common activity at airports around the world. Sometimes it’s more than just a hobby. There are associations and groups of people involved in the activity and some spotters take notes of aircraft’s details such as colour, size and plane registration. How to be an aircraft spotter is a good resource about it. Some websites highlight how popular the aircraft spotting is at Birmingham airport
Back in 1939, when our local airport was known as Elmdon airport, spot planes landing and taking off were already quite popular. But due to the outbreak of World War II, it re-opened after the war, and eventually became Birmingham International Airport.
The construction of the runways necessitated the closure of Elmdon Lane between the village and Marston Green to the north, and the demolition of Elmdon village itself. Two dwellings remain of the original settlement at the crossroads, though maps still show this point as the centre of Elmdon.
![Michael Westley [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://i0.wp.com/midlandstraveller.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/viewing_location_elmdon_airport_-_geograph-org-uk_-_1626546.jpg?ssl=1)
Some facts and figures nowadays:
Birmingham Airport is the UK’s third-largest airport outside London and the seventh-largest overall. By 2020, based on today’s demand, Birmingham Airport is forecast to handle around 15 million passengers a year, an increase of six million passengers. The runway extension and development of the airport is the driver for this growth, both in terms of long haul flights, connecting flights to feed the long haul network and increased demand for cargo freight movement.
Photos and video of some aircraft spotting from yesterday at Birmingham International Airport:
Source | Wikipedia
Hello Simone, When you say that ‘the construction of the runways necessitated the closure of Elmdon Lane between the village and Marston Green to the north, and the demolition of Elmdon village itself’… what buildings were lost?