'Inflationary costs' drive up Birmingham Airport security hall re-build by millions of pounds

The 'state-of-the-art' security hall at Birmingham Airport, due to be completed this summer, has had its budget expanded in the face of soaring costs, bosses confirmed

Birmingham Airport's "state-of-the-art" security hall upgrade will cost £10 million more than first predicted, airport bosses have confirmed. The airport is undergoing a security hall upgrade to bring it in line with regulations by June 2024.

The project - set to bring in key changes to how passengers queue, transit to airside and carry liquids - initially had a budget of £40 million. Work began in spring 2023, but by December of last year Birmingham Airport said the scheme would cost more than £50 million.

BHX confirmed the increased bill to BirminghamLive but said all was on track to get the security hall open on time. The airport put the rising costs of the terminal upgrade down to "inflationary pressures."

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A spokesperson said: "Inflationary pressures impacting the whole economy have driven up the cost of the project, which remains on track for completion in June this year."

The next-generation security hall project is part of BHX’s £300m capital investment programme over the next decade. Its expansion plan aims is to create a more efficient terminal capable of serving 18 million customers a year by 2033.

Birmingham Airport new security terminal under construction

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Workers are on-site 21 hours a day to get the project - which includes air rail link, security lane, departure gates and lift area improvements - completed on time. Nick Barton, chief executive of BHX, said: “If summer at BHX was all about improved long-haul connectivity, autumn was all about low-cost growth. Both are key to our long-term growth plan as we prepare to serve more than 13 million customers next year.

“In 2024 we look forward to unveiling our £50m-plus new security hall, which will vastly improve the experience for customers, switching on our new customer website, and generating 20 per cent of our electricity needs from a 12,000-panel solar array currently under construction.”

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