It was announced in January 2016 that planning permission had finally been given, despite protests from local residents, to demolish the former passenger terminal and replace it with a new Energy College as part of the renewable energy sector of Blackpool and the Fylde College. The former main terminal had been fully renovated and modernised in 2005 and was capable of handling 2 million passengers a year. The terminal had been left empty and unused since the airport closed in October 2014, and all the landside and airside equipment was auctioned off in 2015. Demolition of the terminal began in February 2016 and took around 4 weeks to complete. After the demolition was complete, the construction of the new College began.