This popular British regional airport will close for good this summer

Despite the astronomic growth happening at UK airports like Luton, Gatwick and Heathrow, not all airports can say they are doing as well. One small regional flight hub in the West Midlands has announced it will shutter forever from this summer. RIP. 

Coventry Airport, which has been operating since 1936, will close down on June 11. Its final flight will take place a few weeks earlier, on May 9. 

The site won’t be abandoned however, as it’s undergoing a £2.5 billion redevelopment to be converted into a gigafactory that will produce batteries for electric vehicles, called Greenpower Park. The new factory is expected to create 6,000 jobs. 

The Midlands airport was originally called Baginton Aerodrome when it opened in the 1930s. It operated as an RAF base during World War II, then in the ’50s began passenger flights to the Channel Islands. Over the years it has seen flights operated by a number of different airlines to various locations in Europe. 

Hards Travel flew passengers to Spain, France, Italy and Austria as part of package holidays in the ’80s. More recently, in 2004, Thomsonfly operated jet passenger flights to the sunny spots like Palma, Valencia, Rome, Nice, Marseille, Naples, Pisa, Venice, and Jersey. Wizz Air also flew passengers to Gdańsk and Katowice. 

However, this period was short-lived with flights ceasing after only four years. In 2009 the airport closed briefly because of financial issues, before reopening in 2010 for only freight flights. 

Last year, a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) spokesperson confirmed it would close after 90 years: ‘Coventry Aerodrome has given formal notice to us of its plan to close the airport permanently with effect from 11 June 2026.’

ICYMI: This major UK airport is getting night trains to the city centre, running hourly services past midnight. 

Plus: Manchester Airport is getting a bar inspired by the legendary Haçienda