One of the UK’s oldest airfields is about to shut its doors for good, and what’s taking its place is quite something.
Coventry Airport will officially close on 11 June 2026, with its final flight departing on 9 May. The site, which has been operating since 1936, is being transformed into Greenpower Park — a £2.5 billion gigafactory that will produce batteries for electric vehicles, creating an estimated 6,000 jobs in the process.
It’s quite the change of use. The airport originally opened as Baginton Aerodrome back in the 1930s and went on to serve as an RAF base during the Second World War. It even hosted Pope John Paul II during his 1982 UK tour and became a much-loved venue for local airshows over the decades. For many people in the area, the annual Air Day each August — with Spitfires, Lancasters, and Harriers filling the skies — is what they’ll remember most fondly.
In terms of commercial flights, though, Coventry has been quiet for a while. The airport hasn’t operated regular commercial services since 2008, so most travellers heading to or from Coventry have long been using Birmingham Airport, around 35 minutes away, or catching a train into one of the London terminals. The closure won’t change travel plans for the vast majority of people.
That said, it’s not just memories being affected. The Midlands Air Museum occupies one end of the runway, and for now its caretakers have said they have no plans to close, which is reassuring. The Air Ambulance Service, however, faces a trickier situation — the charity has confirmed its vital work will continue, and it is working with both the airport and the Civil Aviation Authority to keep flying from Coventry even after other operations have ceased, with hopes of establishing a new airbase nearby.
Coventry isn’t alone in this either. It’s part of a broader trend of smaller UK airports that have struggled to remain viable — Doncaster Sheffield and Plymouth City Airport have both closed in recent years, and the economics of running a regional airport without consistent commercial traffic are extremely tough.
On the flip side, the arrival of Greenpower Park represents a significant investment in the region and fits neatly into the UK’s push towards electric vehicle manufacturing. Battery production is one of the key pieces of the EV puzzle that Britain needs to develop domestically, and a site of this scale in the Midlands — the traditional heartland of British car making — makes a lot of sense.
So while it’s the end of an era for aviation in Coventry, it might just be the beginning of something equally significant.
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Sources:
This Popular British Regional Airport Will Close for Good This Summer — Time Out UK, 24 April 2026
