HALFWAY THERE: THE STORY SO FAR OF BHX’S SECURITY HALL BUILD

Exclusive footage was released today showing the ongoing construction of Birmingham Airport (BHX)’s £50m new security hall.

Time-lapse video conveys the scale and complexity of the project to transform the Midlands transport hub.

This is just one of the upgrades in BHX’s £300m capital investment programme, which will take it from a 12m-customer-a-year airport today to one serving 18m customers a year by 2033.

Work on the new security hall has made significant progress since April, with the state-of-the-art facility due to open in June 2024.

New scanning equipment will ensure BHX complies with new regulations that come into force in June 2024, and enable BHX to process customers more effectively and efficiently.

BHX is using this as an opportunity to make the terminal more pleasant and welcoming for customers.

A new, solar panel-clad roof is being built across part of the terminal, providing natural light, and helping power the terminal with green electricity.

The external façade of the terminal is being extended outwards and four 50-person lifts are replacing the existing escalators.

This will create more space inside the building and make the walking route to the Departures and the air-rail link station area simpler and easier for customers.

The project team is working 21 hours a day to get the work done safely and on time.

Stephen Barker, development director for BHX, said: “We have made great progress in the last six months on delivering a reconfigured facility which will transform the passenger experience at Birmingham Airport with a more efficient pre-flight screening process capable of serving greater volumes of people more effectively.

“We thank customers and staff for bearing with us as we carry out this work in our operational areas. To date we have been successful in maintaining our programme and, with continued support and cooperation, we expect to meet our shared goal of providing a great new facility for everyone.

“There will be further changes to walking routes in the next few weeks. We’d ask everyone to remember that, in June 2024, the result will be worth it.”