UK Aviation Minister Paul Maynard joined Birmingham Airport CEO Nick Barton and local MP Saqib Bhatti to break ground on Birmingham Airport’s departure lounge extension on Thursday, January 23, 2020.
The £30m (US$40m) extension is the airport’s biggest project in a decade. It will provide a modern two-story extension with outdoor terrace area, increasing the space by 45%, creating more natural light, circulation space, seating and toilets, as well as adding five new catering units and three retail outlets.
The departure lounge extension will be 21m (70ft) tall at its highest point and over 130m long (425ft). It will use 1,000 metric tons of steel and peak times will see 200 construction workers on-site.
Airport CEO Barton said, “The extended lounge forms part of a wider terminal transformation project, known as TE18, which will cater for the forecast growth in passenger numbers to 18 million per year by 2033. The departure lounge extension is the largest component of TE18. Once complete, early next year, it will provide a spacious and modern facility for our customers with a wide range of shops, restaurants and amenities.”
Maynard’s visit to Birmingham was the second stop on his tour of UK regional airports, as part of the Department for Transport’s Regional Air Connectivity Review. The review is part of a series of measures intended to support regional connectivity across the UK.
