M42 emergency closure alert as Birmingham Airport passengers warned of diversion

Drivers are being warned to check their journeys ahead of an emergency M42 slip road closure this afternoon. National Highways West Midlands put out an alert this morning, June 12, issuing a warning to all motorists, including Birmingham Airport passengers, over the closure.

Travel bosses are being forced to close access to part of the key Midlands route for a minimum of an hour this afternoon to make repairs to the road infrastructure following a crash this morning. There have been delays of 15 minutes this morning following the crash on the M42.

The closure will impact access to the airport for some motorists, so those who have plans to catch a flight should check their route is not affected. National Highways released a diversion route.

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National Highways West Midlands put out an alert just after 11am warning drivers of the imminent closure. Releasing a full update on X, a National Highways West Midlands spokesperson said: "The M42 southbound exit slip road at J6 @bhx_official A45 is due to CLOSE at 12 noon TODAY (12 June) for approx. 60 minutes for emergency infrastructure repairs due to an earlier traffic collision.

"Diversion: Continue south on the M42 until J5, exit and rejoin the M42 north." Works is expected to take around an hour to complete.

Birmingham Airport passengers appeared to face an easier morning today, Wednesday, June 12, after days of long outdoor queues to clear security. Travellers have repeatedly faced long delays, particularly during early mornings as the first load of planes are filled up.

We visited the busy travel hub on Tuesday June 11, and put concerns to the airport's chief executive, who admitted a recent liquid rule change has been "painful." More from that exclusive chat, here.

Follow our live updates from the airport today, here.