While 2025 has brought with it countless airline bankruptcies as smaller carriers struggle to compete for passengers and the rising cost of operations, the closure of an entire airport is a more drastic step that usually comes amid a major change in demand or redevelopment in a given area.

Over in Belgium, calls to permanently shut down Antwerp International (DNR) known locally as Duerne have increased in recent months as it goes largely unused by all but charter airlines given the proximity of the larger Brussels Airport (BRU) just an hour's train ride away.

After posting a net loss of €2.3 million over the last two years, Duerne has been generating headlines for being "bankrupt in all but name."

Once a critical World War II base, Coventry Airport to shut down in June 2026

Across the English Channel in Great Britain, Coventry Airport (CVT) in West Midlands actually is getting shut down in June 2026 as local city council prepares for the construction of a technology and energy "gigafactory."

First opened in 1936 as Baginton Aerodome and used as a base for the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force base during World War II, the airport was shut down to commercial passenger flights in 2008 due to its small size and proximity of the larger Birmingham Airport (BMX).

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Over the ensuing 16 years, it was used primarily by charter airlines as well as for various cargo, flight training and medical transportation services.

"Coventry Aerodrome has given formal notice to us of its plan to close the airport permanently with effect from 11 June 2026," a CAA spokesperson confirmed in a statement.

Rigby Group, the development company which owned Coventry Airport since 2009 and also secured the contract for construction of the electric factory in 2021, also said that the shutdown "enables the next phase of infrastructure work for the site to proceed."

According to reporting from the BBC, companies renting hangar space have received letters informing them of the need to vacate the airport in June. The only local site that will remain untouched is the Midlands Air Museum on the history of aviation in the region.

A short history of Coventry Airport and its importance to British aviation

Despite not being used for passenger flights for almost two decades, Coventry Airport holds an important space in the history of aviation in the area. Pope John Paul II arrived at the airport in 1982 for a WWII commemoration while it has also been used for Kings Cup Air Races and by the British Royal Family on their visits to Coventry.