Best Destinations from Birmingham Airport: Where to Fly in 2026
Birmingham is the quiet achiever of UK airports, no queues to speak of and a surprisingly good network. Our pick of the best destinations from BHX this year.
Where to Fly from Birmingham airport in 2026
Birmingham is the UK's seventh-busiest airport and one of its most underrated. Under half the queueing of Heathrow, parking right next to the terminal and direct flights to more than 150 destinations. Here is our honest pick of the best routes from BHX for 2026, the classics, the surprises, and the ones you have probably never tried.
All route data below comes from our live Birmingham destinations page.
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The Best Short-Haul Destinations from Birmingham
Birmingham is overwhelmingly short-haul. Ryanair, easyJet, Jet2, Aer Lingus, TUI Airways and KLM dominate the departure boards.
Dublin, the most booked route
Dublin is by some margin Birmingham's busiest destination, with roughly 52 weekly flights on Aer Lingus and Ryanair. About 1h 15m in the air. An easy option for anyone in the Midlands, no queues either side and the border is seamless.
Belfast City George Best
The BHD route (rather than BFS international) runs about 35 weekly flights on Aer Lingus and Aer Lingus Regional. BHD is only 5 minutes from central Belfast, which is a massive advantage over BFS.
Amsterdam Schiphol
Around 32 weekly flights on KLM and easyJet. The KLM service in particular is excellent value for anyone connecting onwards, you can get to most of Asia and Africa in a single connection at Schiphol.
Paris CDG
Air France and easyJet run about 26 weekly flights to Paris. Just under 90 minutes in the air, and Roissybus from CDG gets you into central Paris for about €16.
Alicante, Malaga and Palma
The Iberian sunshine classics. Alicante and Palma both run about 20 weekly flights, Malaga 19. Ryanair, Jet2, easyJet and TUI share most of them. All under 3 hours in the air.
Frankfurt
Lufthansa run 13 weekly flights to FRA. Smaller and more manageable than Schiphol for connections, and FRA has direct onward flights to almost everywhere.
Long-Haul from Birmingham
BHX is not a major long-haul airport, but it has a few genuinely useful options.
Istanbul with Turkish Airlines
Turkish Airlines run about 8 weekly flights to Istanbul. For anyone in the Midlands, this is hands down the easiest way to get to Asia without trekking to Heathrow. Turkish connect onward to more than 130 cities from IST.
Dubai and Doha
Emirates and Qatar Airways both serve Birmingham with daily flights. Excellent for Asia, Australia, southern Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. Long-haul seat pricing out of BHX is often competitive with Heathrow when the convenience factor is included.
Other long-haul
Seasonal TUI and BA flights to the Caribbean and parts of the USA (especially Orlando) operate through the summer, check live departures for the current schedule.
Flying early? Don't risk the traffic. Stay minutes from the terminal with park & fly packages included.
Underrated Routes from Birmingham
Aberdeen with Loganair
Loganair run roughly 13 weekly flights to Aberdeen. Saves a long drive or train journey if you are heading for the north-east of Scotland or Speyside.
Edinburgh
About 12 weekly flights on easyJet. LNER from Birmingham New Street is often faster overall, but useful for early morning meetings or late evening returns.
Dusseldorf
Eurowings run 11 weekly flights to DUS. The Rhine valley and western Germany are closer and more accessible from Dusseldorf than from Frankfurt.
Rome Fiumicino
Around 12 weekly flights on easyJet, Wizz Air Malta, Jet2 and Ryanair. Under 3 hours in the air and very easy to pair with a few days in Tuscany afterwards.
Bucharest
Bucharest Henri Coanda has about 8 weekly flights on Wizz Air Malta and Ryanair. Romania has become one of Europe's most interesting city-break destinations, Bucharest itself is underrated and Transylvania is a rail or drive away.
Krakow
Krakow runs 6 weekly flights on Ryanair and Jet2. Excellent-value weekend break, and the rail link to the centre from Krakow John Paul II airport is 20 minutes.
When to Fly From Birmingham
Sunshine destinations
Malaga, Alicante and the Canary Islands are year-round. Mainland Spain, Balearics and Turkey are best May to September, late September is our pick for the mix of warmth and lower prices.
City breaks
Late April to mid-June and September are perfect. August is warm but crowded and expensive.
Winter flying
Dubai, Doha and the Canary Islands are the classic December to February options. Lanzarote and Gran Canaria are reliably warm.
Timing at the airport
Birmingham rarely has long queues outside of 5am to 7am summer Saturdays. Arrive 2 hours early for short-haul and you will be in the lounge with time to spare.
Sources
- Route frequencies from live Birmingham departures on this site
- Birmingham Airport route list: birminghamairport.co.uk
- Live Birmingham destinations
Flight numbers are a typical weekly sample and do shift with the season.
Plan Your Trip
For a full list of everything flying from BHX, see our live destinations page or the departures board. Before you drive in, compare Birmingham Airport parking prices.
Questions about Birmingham routes? Send us a message.
Written by
Which Terminal Team