British airport stops flights from today as it closes for good after 90 years to be replaced by green energy plant

By ROBERT FOLKER, NEWS REPORTER Published: 17:54, 9 May 2026 | Updated: 17:54, 9 May 2026 A UK airport has officially ceased all flights from today as it closes for good after operating for 90 years. Flights from Coventry Airport will end today, May 9, and the site will permanently shut on June 11, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The site is earmarked to become a new multi-billion-pound green energy plant. The airport first opened in 1936 as Baginton Aerodrome before operating as RAF Baginton during the Second World War  Over the years it ran commercial passenger flights, general aviation and air ambulance services. Passenger flights largely began in the 1950s, taking passengers to the Channel Islands. Hards Travel began operating package holiday flights in the 1980s to destinations such as France, Spain and Italy. In the noughties it hosted Thomsonfly and Wizz Air flights to a number of destinations across Europe but since 2008 there have been no scheduled passenger flights, amid competition with nearby Birmingham Airport.  Flights from Coventry Airport will end today, May 9, and the site will permanently shut on June 11, according to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) The airport was bought by its current owners The Rigby Group in 2010 and last year a public-private joint venture with Coventry City Council was announced to turn the site into GreenPower Park.   Plans for GreenPower Park will see the site turned into a £2.5billion battery factory designed for electric vehicle production, expecting to create up to 6,000 jobs. Jim O'Boyle, the former councillor responsible for jobs and regeneration at the local authority said: 'What we want to see are thousands of jobs created here, giving the area an economic lift.' Mr O'Boyle, who has served on the council since 2007, lost his seat in the recent local elections to the Green Party. The GreenPower Park is described on the project's website as a 'place where like-minded businesses can collaborate, innovate and scale next generation technologies'. No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.