Birmingham Airport is prepping itself for millions and millions more passengers over the coming years. Last financial year, the West Midlands hub hit a new record of more than 13m passengers, this year 14m people are expected and, by 2033 that number is forecast to reach 18m. So, with numbers expected to just keep growing, the airport has revealed how it plans to spend £300m over the next four years (that’s around £75m spent each year up to 2029).
As part of its ‘biggest investment plan to date’, there’ll be three new food and drink outlets in the departure lounge, improvements to the airfield, extra capacity for handling baggage, a refresh of toilet facilities and more e-gates introduced. The new food and beverage outlets are expected to open in 2026, but its not been confirmed what they’ll be yet.
In April, Birmingham Airport airport announced that £10m would be going towards improving its arrivals hub, with an additional baggage carousel and a larger border control area. Around £40m has been set aside for the work on the airfield, which will include reconstructing parts of the taxiways, new stands for aircraft and new lights.
It’s hoped that these improvements will improve passenger experience and help the airport accommodate more travellers over the coming years.
Nick Barton, CEO of Birmingham Airport said: ‘We are currently in our most successful year ever at the airport and we are confident this growth is set to continue. We have already made significant investment in the airport this year, having delivered new departure gates, lounges on the international pier, additional security lanes, new retail offerings and baggage capacity to name only a few projects.
‘Our plan for the next three to four years shows how we are on our way to delivering more choice for our passengers and enhanced service, whilst continuing the journey to net zero.’
High ambitions
Brum’s not the only airport getting a major makeover. Newcastle Airport is getting a massive £60 million expansion, Heathrow is getting that controversial third runway, Gatwick is getting a £2.2 billion second runway and Luton is building a brand new terminal.
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