Work continues on Birmingham airport’s (BHX) new £50 million security hall, with new lifts now in place and screening equipment expected to be delivered in January.
The airport is phasing in the use of four 50-person Sheridan lifts, which will become the main means of moving between the ground floor check-in and first floor departures areas once temporary lifts have been decommissioned.
The building’s old escalators have also been removed and the external facade of the terminal building has been moved outwards, which BHX says will create more space for customers as they enter the terminal.
New CT scanning equipment will arrive in January, and following installation and staff training they are set to be switched on for customers in June, when the Department for Transport’s deadline for major airports to replace existing 2D screening technology expires.
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BHX said project teams have been working on-site 21 hours a day to deliver the project on time, with an insulated roof clad with solar panels being constructed above the new security hall to help power the CT scanners.
Last month BHX announced it had became the latest UK airport to exceed pre-pandemic passenger traffic levels, with a total of 1,106,000 passengers travelling through the facility in October, compared to 1,101,000 during the same period in 2019.
The new security hall is part of a £300 million capital investment programme which will increase the airport’s capacity to 18 million passengers per year by 2033.
Commenting on the news Stephen Barker, development and construction director for BHX, said:
“Phasing the new lifts into use is an important step in our work to transform the BHX terminal. It will deliver a more efficient pre-flight screening process and will make us compliant with new Government regulations.
“Customers will have seen the extent of the work we are doing as they have passed through the airport since April 2023. We thank both customers and airport staff for bearing with us as we work towards delivering this fantastic new facility.”
To read our recent UK spotlight feature on developments in Birmingham, see:
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