New routes and extra flights help land record year for passenger travel at Birmingham Airport

More than 3 million of those travelled in the final quarter of the year, latest data from the CAA, published on Tuesday (February 24) shows.

Birmingham Airport (BHX) has also enjoyed a record year of capital investment, spending around £1.5 million a week in 2025 as part of a 12-month £76.5 million investment to upgrade its retail and hospitality business offerings, improve its lounges and terminals and upgrade the runway and baggage carousels along with carrying out other improvements.

The investment is part of a wider plan to invest a whopping £300 million over the next four years as passenger numbers are expected to reach around 17 million by 2029.

A spokesperson for Birmingham Airport said of the latest passenger figures and plans for the future: “During 2025 Birmingham Airport handled 13,654,108 passengers, a 6.6 per cent increase on the previous year. The calendar year also saw 10 consecutive, record breaking months.

“This increased growth was bolstered by new routes and additional frequencies on existing services.

“2025 was also a year that BHX announced its biggest ever capital investment program to ensure it is ready for its forecasted growth.

“This calendar year the airport expects to handle over 14 million passengers and will release its master plan in the summer which will detail how the airport will sustainably grow over the coming years.”

The airport was named best medium-sized UK airport for leisure at the British Travel Awards 2025 in recognition of its ongoing work to improve the passenger experience. 

The year ahead looks set to get even busier with the most popular destinations being Dublin, Dubai, Amsterdam, Tenerife, Belfast, Paris, Alicante, Edinburgh, Geneva and Malaga.

A record 302 million passengers travelled through airports across the UK last year, the CAA figures show. This was a 2.4 per cent increase from 295 million passengers in 2024.

Passenger numbers have tripled since 1989, as a result of the boom in budget airlines.

The CAA said growth "looks set to continue" as a recent survey indicated 31 per cent of people plan to fly more this year.

Flight punctuality improved in 2025, with 73 per cent of departures operating on time - up six per cent from 2024 but remaining below pre-pandemic levels.

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CAA group director for consumers and markets Selina Chadha said: "It has never been more popular to fly, and 2025 was officially a record-breaking year.

"While the sector grows from strength to strength, we continue working with aviation partners to drive even higher safety standards and protect passengers when they fly."

Heathrow, the UK and Europe's busiest airport, saw 84.5 million passengers pass through its four terminals last year, a 0.7 per cent increase from 83.9 million in 2024.

Aviation minister Keir Mather said: "A record year for passenger numbers underlines the importance of boosting airport capacity as we progress our work to prepare for a third runway at Heathrow, and drive forward approved expansion plans at Gatwick and Luton .

"Expansion will unlock more choice for passengers, could create thousands of highly skilled jobs, and strengthen our global connectivity, while backing UK aviation's continued growth."