Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport

Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport

Facts about the Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport

Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport, previously known as Birmingham Municipal Airport and afterwards Birmingham International Airport, is a combined civil-military airport that serves Birmingham, Alabama, United States and outlying area as well as Tuscaloosa. It is situated in Jefferson County, which is five miles northeast of Birmingham, close to the interchange of I-20 and I-59.

Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport has an average of 301 aircraft operations per day, which includes 136 flights going to 43 airports in 40 different cities. In 2014, BHM served 2,598,428 passengers, and it’s the biggest and demanding airport in the state of Alabama based on the volume of passengers.

The airport can handle any aircraft including charter private jets. The main runway spans 3,658 m or 12,002 feet long. The second runway spans 2,200 m or 7,100 feet long. A Category II ILS permits operations in visibility as low as a quarter of a mile.

In July 2018, the airport was renamed after Reverend Fred Shuttleworth.

The Southern Museum of Flight is on Airport Authority property, on the east side of the North-South runway.

Facilities and Aircraft

Birmingham–Shuttlesworth International Airport has an area of 2,000 acres or 809 hectares at an elevation of 650 feet above sea level. It has two asphalt runways: 6/24 is 11,998 by 150 feet (3,657 x 46 m) and 18/36 is 7,099 by 150 feet (2,164 x 46 m).

Atlantic Aviation operates on two general aviation fixed based operator facility, plus there are several corporate hangars east of Runway 18/36 and Runway 6/24. Air Med International, which is a fixed-wing air ambulance company, is operating its main hub here.

There is a huge, full-service aircraft alteration and maintenance facility on the airport’s south side. At first, it was made during the Second World War but was then extended. Although there is little work being done in the complex, the facility is housed on roughly 180 acres of land and 1.7 million square feet under its roof. The facility has ten aircraft pull-through bays and has enough space to fit 54 737 sized narrow-body aircraft.

During 2014, the airport operated 94,534 aircraft, with an average of 259 movements every day. The breakdown of travelling aircraft movements are as follows: 41% general aviation, 26% scheduled commercial, 26% air taxi and 6% military. Around 242 aircraft were based at the airport.

Commercial Aircraft

In September 2014, normal commercial passenger traffic is comprised of Boeing 717s, Boeing 737s, Embraer 145s, Embraer 170s, Airbus A319/A320s, CRJ 900s, CRJ700s, CRJ 200s, and MD-80s models on roughly 128 takeoffs/landings per day.

Military Aircraft

Birmingham Air National Guard Base is also situated at the same airport and is made of roughly 147 acres and basic facilities to help the mission of the 117^th Air Refueling Wing, which is a unit of the Alabama Air National Guard operationally-gained by the Air Mobility Command (AMC), and its KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft.