Our Five Minutes with… this month is with Bonnie Barber, Marketing Executive at Birmingham Airport.
Why did you join Birmingham Airport?
I recently joined Birmingham Airport (BHX) having spotted an advert on LinkedIn for a Marketing Executive role. It really appealed to me as I have worked in the travel industry for a few years, performing similar roles within a Travel Agency. I live near to the airport, so liked the idea of walking to work and I’ve been enjoying fresh winter walks so far.
What’s new at Birmingham Airport?
It’s an exciting time as from April onwards we’re welcoming brand new routes to Birmingham Airport, travelling to Berlin and Tivat (Montenegro). As well as these two new destinations, we’re delighted that easyJet will be launching their new base here from the 18th March, with three based aircraft serving 16 easyJet routes; Antalya, Barcelona, Berlin, Fuerteventura, Enfidha, Sharm el Sheikh, Rhodes, Dalaman, Jersey, Larnaca, Malaga, Alicante, Tenerife, Corfu, Kos and Heraklion. It’s a fantastic choice of destinations for our customers.
How are you dealing with the latest disruptions?
This year, we’re on our way to transforming the airport experience by investing £60 million into our new security screening area. I’ve been fortunate to see the current progress of the project with a site visit just last week and it’s looking really good. The new security area will lead to improvements in the customer experience and efficiencies through the security process. This is part of Birmingham Airport’s £300m capital investment programme over the next decade to enhance the experience our customer receives whilst flying to over 133 direct and 467 onward routes.
What’s your favourite destination?
It’s so difficult to pick just one, I would say Cyprus, as I got married there and it holds amazing memories for me. As a family, I’ve enjoyed Menorca and Tenerife – they are perfect destinations for young active families such as mine! Next on my must-see list is Reykjavik in Iceland, it looks like an interesting place to visit.
Any travel tips?
Research your destination as much as you can. I tend to read and listen to reviews on Instagram and TikTok, it’s always worthwhile looking at content from those who have visited where you are going to and it’s a great tool for designing your own itineraries whilst you are there.
Birmingham Airport is the best-connected city by road and rail in the UK. Many customers may not realise that we’re connected directly to Birmingham International Rail station, so onward travel by rail is very accessible from the airport.
For departing passengers, you can book our Express Lane service where you can skip the queues and gain faster access to our departure lounge by using the separate designated lane. For arriving passengers we offer a Premium Fast Track Service, where you can skip the queues and gain faster access to Passport Control at the UK Border Force checkpoint by using the separate designated lane. Both services cost as little as £5 per person and can be booked online at birminghamairport.co.uk.
