Researched and written 17 October 2026. Sources are listed at the end.
Baginton Aerodrome
In 1933 Coventry City Council decided to build a civil airport on land it owned at Baginton, south-east of the city. It opened in 1936 as Baginton Aerodrome. Armstrong Whitworth, an aircraft maker based nearby at Whitley, soon built a factory on the site.
In the Second World War the airfield became RAF Baginton, a fighter station damaged in the Coventry Blitz of 1940. The chairman of the neighbouring Midland Air Museum, Barry James, told the BBC that Armstrong Whitworth built Lancaster bombers there, employing thousands of people.
Holidays, freight and a Pope
After the war the airport returned to civil use. Jersey Airlines flew to the Channel Islands in the 1950s. In the 1960s British United Airways added Carvairs that carried passengers' cars as well as the passengers. In the 1980s a West Midlands travel agent flew holidaymakers to Spain, Italy and Austria.
On 30 May 1982 Pope John Paul II landed by helicopter during the first visit to Britain by a reigning Pope. He celebrated Mass before a crowd of about 350,000 people, administered confirmation and left at about a quarter past three in the afternoon.
Jets, a closure and a new owner
From 2004 Thomsonfly ran scheduled jet flights from a temporary terminal, while Wizz Air flew to Poland. A plan for a permanent terminal was fought through two public inquiries and the High Court. Scheduled passenger flights ended on 9 November 2008.
In December 2009 the Civil Aviation Authority withdrew the operating licence and the airport closed. Sir Peter Rigby's Rigby Group took it over on 28 April 2010 and reopened it that summer. In its later years it served business jets, pilot training and the air ambulance.
The last flights
Take That became the final commercial passengers to land on the runway the week before the end. The airport stopped operating on Thursday 11 June 2026, some 90 years after it opened. Glyn Matthews, who runs the Almat Flying Academy and had been on the site since 1968, packed up to move to Wolverhampton.
The Midland Air Museum, beside the old airfield, is staying open. Its chairman called the loss of the runway a loss to the area.
GreenPower Park
The site is becoming GreenPower Park, a £2.5 billion battery and clean energy scheme led by Coventry City Council and the Rigby Group, with seven manufacturing buildings planned. The project director told the BBC it has the potential to create around 6,000 jobs. Enabling works were due to begin the day after closure, with a new electrical substation being installed for power from renewable sources.
Detailed planning permission came in April 2026. In September Place Midlands reported that the council plans a new hybrid application to open the site to a broader range of advanced manufacturing, engineering and research while keeping the ability to deliver a gigafactory. Power upgrades are due to give the site 30MVA in 2027, rising to 50MVA after 2030.
Visiting Baginton
Baginton is about 3 miles by road from the nearest of our homes. The reconstructed Lunt Roman Fort in the same village is about 3 miles by road from the nearest house. Humber Hub is the nearest base for anyone working on the new park, about 3 miles from the site.
Sources: bbc.com/news/articles/crr854j420qo; Wikipedia: Coventry Airport; placemidlands.co.uk/coventry-to-spend-up-to-1m-refreshing-airport-plan. Distances by road from each house, worked out on OpenStreetMap.
