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Birmingham Airport
By Alex Lennane
UK air cargo growth at the start of 2026 is increasingly a regional story, with capacity expansion concentrated outside London and driven heavily by cross-border ecommerce flows.
Rotate data for the first weeks of the year show outbound international widebody passenger and freighter capacity broadly flat at the main London gateways, while East Midlands and Glasgow Prestwick recorded materially stronger growth. Heathrow remains dominant in absolute scale, but incremental gains are coming from regional airports.
East Midlands continues to lead among the regions, reflecting its entrenched position as the UK’s integrator hub.
East Midlands Airport freighters. Source: Rotate
But the standout performer in percentage terms is Glasgow Prestwick, which, while small in absolute tonnage, has expanded rapidly off its 2025 base. The catalyst was congestion elsewhere.
Nico Le Roux, business development director at Glasgow Prestwick, said the airport’s recent ecommerce surge began when freighter operators sought alternatives to handling constraints in the south-east. What began as overflow traffic evolved into a structured end-to-end ecommerce operation, supported by a dedicated facility and close coordination between platforms, master loaders, carriers, brokers and last-mile providers.
Since last May, Prestwick has processed more than 25 million parcels through its Terminal E facility, handling over 600 cargo flights and more than 23,000 tonnes of imports. Multiple weekly widebody freighter services now connect the airport directly to China, alongside established European links.
Glasgow Prestwick freighters. Source: Rotate
Mr Le Roux argues the growth is not simply displaced traffic. Demand from platforms remained strong, he said, and discussions with additional carriers ongoing. However, some redistribution from congested southern airports is inevitable, particularly where faster processing can shave days off delivery times.
Speed has become a competitive differentiator. Prestwick’s relatively uncongested airspace and short taxi times allow aircraft to avoid holding patterns and lengthy ground delays common at busier hubs. While airport charges represent only a small share of total operating costs, operational efficiency, including reduced fuel burn and rapid turnaround, strengthens the business case for carriers operating high-frequency ecommerce services.
Inbound load factors on China services are high, reflecting the UK’s position as one of the world’s largest ecommerce import markets. The bigger challenge lies in backhaul.
Outbound utilisation remains significantly lower, although improving, supported by exports such as salmon, whisky, pharmaceuticals, and high-value industrial goods.
“The UK is a strong import market,” Mr Le Roux said, adding that building outbound volumes will be key to long-term sustainability.
Despite the surge, Prestwick is cautious about comparisons with Europe’s dedicated cargo powerhouses. Asked whether the Scottish airport could style itself as the “next Liège”, Mr Le Roux was measured.
“I don’t think we’ll ever be as big as Liège,” he said, noting that the Belgian hub benefits from a central EU location and ability to serve multiple neighbouring markets. The UK’s export base, he added, creates “a different dynamic”.
Liège’s rise was built on its ability to function as a pan-European distribution centre. Prestwick’s expansion, while rapid, is more tightly linked to UK-bound ecommerce demand and selective export development. Even so, management sees further headroom.
Meanwhile, Birmingham has experienced a different, but related, cargo reset. This year, the airport will launch and publicly consult on its next ‘Masterplan’, setting out growth projections through to 2041 – with cargo expected to remain central to its strategy.
According to Blue City Aviation, which provides dedicated ramp handling services to freighter operators at BHX, Brexit marked a structural shift. Prior to the UK’s exit from the EU, Birmingham handled numerous short-notice automotive charters, often smaller turboprops, supporting just-in-time manufacturing flows from Europe.
Post-Brexit customs changes and regulatory complexity reduced the viability of ultra-short-notice charters. Some emergency automotive shipments now route via EU airports before being trucked into the UK, rather than operating direct flights.
In their place, more structured freighter operations have taken root.
Lufthansa Cargo launched a daily A321 freighter linking Frankfurt, Birmingham, and Dublin in late 2022, and the service has strengthened steadily. Dedicated widebody ecommerce services have also grown, including daily B777Fs. operated by Maersk Air Cargo, and multiple weekly B747Fs, by Silk Way West, supplemented by seasonal operators, according to Mike Hollick, commercial director, Blue City.
Birmingham Airport freighters. Source: Rotate
“This has also opened up opportunities for high-value exports to Middle and Far-Eastern destinations, with regular shipments of electronics, oil and gas equipment and high-end automobiles from manufacturers such as Rolls-Royce, Bentley, and Aston Martin.
“The lack of slots at Heathrow and Stansted has also encouraged growth at BHX, with the potential for more scheduled freighter routes, and also an increasing number of long-haul charters, particularly with outsize loads or unusual commodities,” he explained.
Photo: Blue City Aviation
The durability of the regional rebound, however, is closely tied to policy.
Low-value import exemptions are being rolled back across major markets. The US has already curtailed its de minimis regime, the EU is introducing a small parcel fee in July, and the UK has confirmed the phased removal of its £135 customs duty relief by March 2029.
The gap could bring an economic advantage for UK ecommerce players, but observers say they expect the government to bring in an earlier measure.
For airports heavily exposed to inbound cross-border parcels, customs reform will be a critical variable. Many expect the model to evolve towards greater in-market warehousing and fulfilment, potentially reshaping flight patterns once again.
For now, though, momentum is firmly regional.
London remains the UK’s cargo heavyweight, but early 2026 trends suggest freighter-led expansion, particularly linked to ecommerce, is being captured by airports able to offer capacity, speed, and operational flexibility.
Whether this represents a structural rebalancing of the UK’s air freight geography, or a cyclical response to congestion and regulatory arbitrage, will depend on how durable the ecommerce surge proves to be.
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