A UK airport will fully close for good this week – after 90 years in operation.
Coventry Airport originally opened in 1936 as Baginton Aerodrome.
During World War Two it operated as RAF Baginton before going on to start passenger flights as well as air ambulance services.
Commercial flights started in the 1950s when it took passengers from the Midlands to the Channel Islands.
Then Hards Travel began operating package holiday flights to Spain, France, and Italy in the 1980s with Thomsonfly operating jet passenger flights in 2004.
In the same year, Wizz Air flew passengers to Poland.
However, passengers flights ceased in 2008 which led to the decision to close the site.
The site will officially shut its doors on June 11 to be redeveloped into a multi-billion-pound energy plant.
Most recently, the airport had been used for training and charter flights – passengers on the very final private flight into the airport were Take That.
The British pop band flew into the airport yesterday evening, having been in the city performing their Circus Live tour.
The Facebook page belonging to Coventry Airport wrote: “Those nice gentlemen from ‘Take That’ flew into Coventry Airport this evening and when they found out that they were our last ever passengers on our last booked commercial flight prior to closing.”
On the post were many comments expressing disappointment about the airport’s closure.
One read: “Sad to see the airport closing down; the airshows there weres great andI had some happy times at the airport.”
Now, plans are for the site to be turned into Greenpower Park, a £2.5billion battery factory designed for electric vehicle production.
Former regeneration councillor at Coventry City Council Jim O’Boyle previously said: “What we want to see are thousands of jobs created here, giving the area an economic lift.”