East Midlands airport eyes expansion with 120-acre scheme
Four development plots have been identified at the UK’s largest air-freight hub, as airport bosses look to keep up with rising demand.
The 120-acre development, which East Midlands Airport says could boost the region’s economy by £1.8bn, has now gone out to developers for expressions of interest.
The scheme would be built in addition to the Prologis-backed East Midlands Freeport project on the southern fringes of the airport site, also belonging to East Midlands Airport owner MAG, which is currently under planning consideration by North West Leicestershire District Council.
The freeport scheme was unveiled in January last year, part of MAG plans to establish its three major airports at Manchester, Kegworth and Stanstead as “economic anchors” within a growing corridor of innovation across the North, Midlands and South East England.
East Midlands airport current handles around 37% of all air freight in the UK, with demand expected to rise by more than 50% within the next two decades, according to airport managing director Steve Griffiths.
“As well as a big heart we have big ambitions, building on our position as the UK’s number one express air cargo hub,” he said, in a statement this week.
“Across the 2025/26 financial year, we topped 400,000 tonnes of cargo for the first time since the pandemic, during which we played a vital role in keeping international trade moving. The 413,664 tonnes carried last year was 46,037 tonnes more than the previous year, a 12.5% increase.
“That increase represents more than a third (37%) of all air freight growth in the UK, which for an airport our size is nothing short of astounding. It underlines our strength in specialising in dedicated freighter aircraft, when most airports carry cargo on passenger planes.”
