The Southern Museum of Flight currently operates on Airport Authority property, to the east side of the north–south runway.

[9] World War II saw the airport leased to the United States Army Air Forces for $1 a year to support national defense.

The Army Air Forces considerably improved the airport with land acquisitions, paving of additional taxiways, and construction of a control tower and an aircraft modification center south of the terminal, now operated by Stewart Industries for aircraft disassembly and disposal.

One factor was an aviation fuel tax imposed by the City of Birmingham in the 1940s; other factors included Birmingham's location in the Central Time Zone, which placed it at a disadvantage in accommodating traffic between East Coast points, and a relatively strong sales and marketing campaign by Atlanta under Mayor William Hartsfield.

The runway at 45/225 degrees is now largely removed, though a paved portion remains crossing taxiway F near the Alabama Air National Guard facilities, used for airport equipment and helicopter landing/parking.

During the 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion, pilots and crews from the Alabama Air National Guard's 117th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing at Birmingham were selected to train Cuban exile fliers in Nicaragua to fly the Douglas B-26 Invader in the close air support role.

Although the 117th was flying the RF-84F Thunderflash, it had only recently retired its RB-26C Invaders, the last squadron in the Air Force to do so; thus the 117th was seen as the logical choice for the CIA's secret mission.

Birmingham natives Leo Baker, Wade Gray, Riley Shamburger, and Thomas "Pete" Ray were killed when their (two) aircraft were shot down.

[11][17] The air traffic control tower, completed in 1962 and located immediately southwest of the terminal, was 87 feet (27 m) tall.

By the early 2000s, Birmingham had completed improvements to the air cargo areas, including a new facility at the far west end of runway 6-24 which houses FedEx and United Parcel Service.

A new FAA air traffic control tower located south of the terminal parking deck and measuring 198-foot (60 m) in height entered service in the Summer of 2001.

This project was completed in phases over three years, retaining with extensive renovations the 1973 landside terminal, demolishing the 1962 terminal and 1973 airside concourses and gates (portions of the 1973 Concourse C structure were reused), and constructing all new airside facilities with 19 gates equipped with jetways.

While little work is now performed at the complex, the facility sits on approximately 180 acres of land and has 1.7 million square feet under its roof.

Itinerant aircraft movements broke down as follows: 41% general aviation, 35% scheduled commercial, 17% air taxi, and 8% military.

Mountain Air Cargo also operates daily flights to Memphis using the ATR-72 twin-turboprop aircraft on behalf of FedEx Express.

[30] The 117 ARW occupies 101 facilities including offices, mission support structures, maintenance hangars, a petroleum/oil/lubricants (POL) storage and refueling station, a joint Army and Air Force evacuation hospital, as well as 24/7 Security Forces, Fire Response, Base Defense Operations Center, and Base Command Post.

Beginning in December 2015, Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority introduced two new express Airport Shuttle routes from downtown Birmingham hotels directly to the terminal.

For international arrivals, a partition is closed, redirecting deplaning passengers down a separate corridor to the customs facility.

[36] The 1974 terminal was built in the International style of architecture popular for American commercial and institutional buildings from the 1950s through the late 1970s.

Large floor to ceiling plate glass windows form curtain walls on the departure level of the terminal with horizontal bands of repetitive white architectural panels above and below.

This project included a major renovation and upgrade to the airport's existing Concourse C, which was dismantled down to its structural components and rebuilt.

The project team included KPS Group and KHAFRA (Architects & Engineers), A.G. Gaston Construction (Project Management), Margaret Jones Interiors, LLC and Brasfield & Gorrie and BLOC Global Services Group (Construction Management).

[40][41] In September 2014, the Bresette family and companies involved in the installation of the display reached a wrongful death settlement.

Approaching the airport along Messer Airport Boulevard, travelers pass a series of white three dimensional triangular shapes placed on raised posts along the shoulder and median of the roadway with a mid-span folded crease to suggest the wings of birds in flight or aircraft.

The first major display is a living plant wall entitled "Earth Wind and Water: The Landscape of Alabama".

The displays contain pictures and video clips which are linked to form an ever-changing moving wall depicting various "stories" focussing on African American history and civil rights.

"[51] As of January 2023, the top five markets served non-stop from Birmingham are Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Charlotte, Houston, and Denver.

In April 2023, Kuehne+Nagel began twice weekly flights from Stuttgart, Germany to Birmingham, primarily to support the central Alabama automotive manufacturing industry.

[59] Also in April 2023, Air Atlanta Icelandic began operating flights between Liège, Belgium and BHM using Boeing 747-400F aircraft.

An internal review following the accident concluded planes come "dangerously close" to nearby hills if even a few feet too low, that there is a significant "terrain threat" and a non-standard glide path.