Hello

A JOURNEY THROUGH
BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT

Getting to
the Airport

Check-In

Going through
Security

In the
Departure
Lounge

Getting on
the Plane

Coming
Home
Hello from Birmingham Airport

This booklet has been designed to help parents when they are
travelling through Birmingham Airport.

Travelling with children can be stressful, this booklet is split into

different parts which explain the story of travelling through the
Airport in words and pictures.

The story starts with arriving at the Airport and takes you
through to coming home. For every part of the story there are
tick boxes so that children can look out for, and tick off various
items along the way. There is even a fun section which includes
word searches, colouring and puzzles.

We hope you and your children enjoy using this booklet.

1
 My Journey

Draw a picture of Your Name: _____________________

yourself here
I am flying to: ___________________

Use the space below to write

about what you are going to do on
your holiday:

2
 Getting to the
Airport

You can arrive at Birmingham Airport by bus, car, Did you

See?
train or taxi. (Tick as
you see
If you arrive by bus you will be them)
dropped off outside the Terminal Bus
Building.

If you arrive by car you will park in Car

either Car Park 1, 2, 3 or 5. If you
are being dropped off by car then
you will use the Drop and Go Car Car
Park which is especially for Park
Shuttle
passenger drop off purposes. There
Bus
is a shuttle bus which operates from
Car Park 5.

Air-Rail
From the train station you will use Link
the Air-Rail Link which will bring you
directly into the Terminal

Taxi
If you arrive by taxi you will be
dropped off outside the Terminal at
the taxi rank.

3
 Check-In

After you have arrived at the Airport, you will need Did you
See?
to check-in for your flight. (Tick as
you see
Flight Information Display Screens them)
will tell you which check-in desk you Flight
need to go to. You will then join the Display
other passengers waiting to check in Screens
for your flight.
At the check-in desk you will be asked
People at
to show your passport and tickets.
check-in
You may also be asked some
questions about your luggage. You
will need to put your suitcase on the
baggage belt for it to be weighed. Check-in
Desk
Your suitcase will then go down the
conveyer belt and will be loaded onto
the aeroplane. The check-in staff will
then give you your boarding card and Baggage
Belt
then you can go through security.
Some people may not use a check-in
desk as they do not have any
suitcases, these people will use a Suitcase
self-service machine to check-in for
their flight.

4
 Security

Now you have checked-in you are ready to go How

through Security. many
did you
Using the boarding card you were
count?
given at check-in. You will either
show this to one of our Security Write
Officers or you will put the card in a your
answer
boarding card reader machine, this
in the
will allow you access to the security boxes
area.
Boarding
You will need to get ready to go Card
through Security. If you have any Reader
liquids, gels or pastes of 100ml or Machine
less these need to go in a clear s
plastic bag as they will go through
the x-ray machine in a tray along with AMD’s
your other items.

Security
Every passenger that goes through Officers
security has to walk through the
Archway Metal Detector (or AMD for
short!). The machine may beep as you
walk through and the Security Officers
may search you – you might even get a
sticker!

5
 Security

By the time you have walked through

the AMD – your bags and clothing will
have gone through the x-ray. A
Security Officer may ask to search
your bags. Don’t forget to put your
empty tray on the bottom rollers so it
can be used by someone else.

The Airport now uses a body scanner

and you may see some people going
into it. This machine takes a picture
of the person and displays it on a
screen for the Security Officer to look
at. The Security Officer may then
search this person.

Did you see? (Tick as you see them)

Security Officer

Boarding Card Reader

Machine
Archway Metal Detectors

Black Trays

6
 In the Departure
Lounge

When you have gone through Security, you will go

into the Departure Lounge. To get into the Did you
See?
Departure Lounge you will walk through the World
Duty Free Shop – can you follow the black shiny (Tick as
path? you see
them)
The Departure Lounge has lots of
shops and restaurants – so if you
Shops
want to grab a seat and a drink and
relax before your flight then you can.
Or maybe you would like to have a
Restaurant
look in some of the shops. Don’t
forget to take your boarding card with
you – as you will need this if you buy
anything in the shops. Seats

About an hour before your flight is

due to depart, keep an eye on the
Flight
Flight Information Display Screens
Display
as this will tell you which Gate you Screens
need to go to. When your flight is
shown it’s time for you to go to the
gate to get ready to board your Your
plane for your holiday to start! aeroplane!

Can you see your aeroplane

out of the window?

7
 Getting on the Plane

Did you
When you arrive at the Gate, there will be a member See?
of staff who will take your boarding card from you –
(Tick as
they will keep one half of it and give the other half you
back to you – so you know what seat to sit in on the seem
aeroplane. them)

You will board the aeroplane by

either an airbridge which is a Gate
walkway that connects the Numbers
aeroplane doors to the terminal.

Airbridge
You may get on a bus and go for a
short ride to get to your
aeroplane.
Bus

Or maybe you will walk straight out

and to the aeroplane.
Planes

How did you get to your aeroplane?

Enjoy your Holiday!

8
 Coming Home

When you come home your plane will land and then it will Did you
make its way to a stand – you will then get off the plane – See?
don’t forget to take all your personal belongings with you. (Tick as
you see
You will either enter the terminal by them)
an airbridge, a bus or walk
depending on which stand your
aeroplane is parked on. Signs

You will then follow all the other

passengers into the Immigration
Hall, you might have to wait a few E-Gates

minutes as this area can get very

busy as lots of flights can be landing
Passport
at the same time. When it is your
turn you will show your passport to
one of the Immigration Officers and
he will look at the picture to make People

sure it is you! You might see some

people using special machines to
scan their own passport – these
machines are called E-Gates and
you need to be over 18 to use them.

Next you need to collect your

suitcase from the Baggage Reclaim
Hall.

9
 Coming Home

Did you
When you get to the Baggage See?
Reclaim Hall, check the information
(Tick as
screens to see which carousel you
you see
need to stand at to get your them)
suitcase.

Can you spot your suitcase? Carousels

When you have collected your

suitcase you will then go through
Customs - this is the area which Suitcases
stops anyone from bringing illegal
items into the country. Sometimes
you might see some specially
Sniffer
trained dogs with their handler Dog
these dogs can sniff out any illegal
items that someone might try and
bring back from their trip. When you Exit Signs
exit the doors after the Customs
area you will be in the arrivals area
of the Terminal – just follow the
signs to the car parks, buses or
taxis.

We hope to see you again soon at

Birmingham Airport!

10
 Fun Time

How many colours can you use?

11
 Fun Time

Word Search – Can you find the 8 words hidden in the grid
below? (Check your answers on page 15)
B Y D F J L T W U O P S C Aeroplane
C O Y U E D C D J V E H L
T P A I R B R I D G E D E Airbridge
Y R W R S E T K N E Y G A
T Q X E D T Q S S J A F G Boarding Card
I F L I J I X G V T O D E
R C Q A X F N L E S Q Y E E Gate
U H E K N D P G I M L G N
Gate
C M C A W I J M C R G R A
E X G P M H M D E A K G L Passport
S H A N B S N R C A R P P
V I T Y Z P E Q E L S D O Security
S P E R Q O W K H T O O R
W T F H F R B Z Q N W F E Terminal
P A S S P O R T W G R F A

Word Jumble – Can you unscramble the letters to form words

to do with the Airport? (Check your answers on page 16)

iketct ______
ckehc ni skde _____-__ ____
tsaesiuc ________
epalnorea _________

12
 Fun Time

Spot the Difference: Can you find the 8 differences between

the two pictures below (Check your answers on Page 15)

13
 Fun Time

How many words can you make using the letters from
the words below? You can always only use each
letter once.

Birmingham Airport

14
 Answer Page

Word Search:
B Y D F J L T W U O P S C
C O Y U E D C D J V E H L
T P A I R B R I D G E D E
Y R W R S E T K N E Y G A
T Q X E D T Q S S J A F G
I F L I J I X G V T O D E
R C Q A X F N L E S Q Y E
U H E K N D P G I M L G N
C M C A W I J M C R G R A
E X G P M H M D E A K G L
S H A N B S N R C A R P P
V I T Y Z P E Q E L S D O
S P E R Q O W K H T O O R
W T F H F R B Z Q N W F E
P A S S P O R T W G R F A

Word Jumble: Ticket, Check-in Desk, Suitcase,

Aeroplane
Spot the Difference:

15