Bournemouth Airport

For the World War II use of this facility, see RAF Hurn

Bournemouth Airport
File:Bournemouth Airport logo.png
The previous departures building in June 2007
IATA: BOH ICAO: EGHH
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner/Operator	Manchester Airports Group
Serves	Bournemouth
Location	Hurn, Dorset
Hub for	Palmair Ryanair Thomson Airways
Elevation AMSL	38 ft / 12 m
Coordinates	50°46′48″N 001°50′33″W
Website	www.bournemouthairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 08/26 2,271 7,451 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Movements 82,538 Passengers 870,754 2008-2009 Change -19.6%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority

Bournemouth Airport (IATA: BOH, ICAO: EGHH) (previously known as Hurn Airport and Bournemouth International Airport) is an airport located 3.5 NM (6.5 km; 4.0 mi) north northeast of Bournemouth, in southern England. Bournemouth Airport opened as RAF Hurn in 1941 and began commercial services in the late 1950s, with Ryanair commencing operations to Dublin in 1996. After, Ryanair and Thomson Airways based aircraft at the airport, with scheduled flights now frequently serving Western Europe and the Mediterranean with charter and seasonal services serving North Africa, North America and the Caribbean. Passengers handled in 2007 rose by 13% to 1,086,900 which was the first time passenger numbers passed the 1 million mark. Passenger numbers remained relatively static in 2008 at 1,083,446. Following the recession of 2009, numbers travelling through the airport fell significantly to 870,754, down almost 20% in comparison to 2008, a much greater reduction than seen across United Kingdom airports which had an average reduction of 7.4%. However, Bournemouth Airport is one of several airports claiming to be one of the fastest growing airports in the United Kingdom, with the new terminal unveiled in June 2010.

On 25 November 2008, Bournemouth Airport was ranked best airport in the United Kingdom and 3rd best in the world, after Singapore Changi Airport and Hong Kong International Airport, by the Daily Telegraph Travel Awards.

Bournemouth Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (number P736) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction. As of September 2010, Ryanair and Thomson Airways remain the primary users of the airport.

Location

Bournemouth Airport is situated on the edge of Hurn village in the Borough of Christchurch, 4 miles (6 km) north of Bournemouth, 1 mile (1.6 km) west of the A338 and approximately 100 miles (160 km) south west of London. The airport is accessible via the A31 from the M27 and M3 motorway to the east, and via the A35 to the west.

Every hour, seven days a week, the Bournemouth Airport Shuttle bus serves the airport, linking the town centre to the airport. Operational between 7am and 7pm, the shuttle also provides transportation for employees. The nearest other airports serving the area are Exeter International Airport and Southampton Airport.

History

1940s

Bournemouth Airport began as RAF Hurn on 1 August 1941, during World War II. It was used for paratroop training and as a glider base before the North African Landings in 1943. Prior to D-Day, it was the base of 570 Squadron, who landed agents and dropped supplies to the French Resistance. The hardened runways of the airfield saw extensive use by United States Army Air Forces in the preparations for D-Day and the subsequent Battle of Normandy. It was also the home base of 84 Group, RAF Second Tactical Air Force, comprising nine squadrons of Typhoons, who flew daily to France supporting ground forces.

From November 1944 the airfield took over from Bristol's Whitchurch airport as the main operating base for British Overseas Airways Corporation until Heathrow fully opened in 1948. It was the starting point of the first England-Australia service, which took three days in Avro Lancastrians (modified Lancaster bombers). The airport served Accra, Cairo, Calcutta, Johannesburg, New York, Sydney and Washington D.C.

1950s

1958 saw the first Palmair charter from the airport, using a single 36 seat Viking aircraft destined for Palma de Mallorca. The service was one of the first charter flights in the United Kingdom.

Aircraft manufacture

Vickers-Armstrongs took over some ex-BOAC hangars at Hurn in 1951 and started production of Varsities, then Viscounts and eventually, as the British Aircraft Corporation, the BAC One-Eleven.

Nearly all Vickers Viscounts & BAC 1-11s were built at this site. Some of the development of the ill-fated TSR-2 was also done here (but assembly and testing was at Warton, Lancs), as well as the production of a number of parts for Concorde. The closure of the BAC site in the 1980s saw an end to Bournemouth's role as a significant player in the aircraft construction industry. The site of the BAC works now forms one of Dorset's largest industrial sites, including a base for Cobham plc.

1960s

In 1969 the airport was purchased jointly by the Bournemouth Corporation and Dorset County Council and renamed as "Bournemouth Airport" (later to become Bournemouth International Airport). The new owners decided to redevelop the facility as a commercial airport and, by 1980, the airport became used by charter airlines, when European Aviation began services.

1990s–2000s

In 1993, the airport received its first regular passengers when Palmair wet leased its first aircraft and European Aviation Air Charter (EAC) started operations. In 1995, the airport was sold to National Express Group and then, in March 2001, was acquired by the Manchester Airports Group, the largest UK-owned airport group.

In 1996, a new extension to the main runway was officially opened by the arrival of Concorde. Bath Travel chartered Concorde for supersonic champagne lunches across the Bay of Biscay. Ryanair also began services from Bournemouth to Dublin with one of its Boeing 737-200.

Since 2001, a Boeing 747SP has been based at the airport which is used by the Royal Family of Qatar and other VIP government staff from the Middle East. The aircraft is often stored in the former BASCO building (Hangar 12) and is a regular visitor to Zürich Airport and London Heathrow Airport.

In 2003, EAC acquired six Boeing 747-200s from British Airways, with the intention of operating long haul holidays from the airport. Due to financial difficulties, these aircraft were scrapped in 2005.

Bath Travel's Palmair remained the prime user of the airport, with a 737-200 permanently based there. In 2005 Thomsonfly became the first major low cost airline to establish a hub at Bournemouth; allocating two Boeing 737-300 aircraft for low-cost scheduled services to Europe and in 2008 to the Caribbean. Also in 2005, Air Berlin and EasyJet began services by announcing routes to Paderborn and Geneva respectively. Air Berlin have now ceased operations at the airport. The airport previously had a daily service to the Channel Islands provided by the Jersey-based Blue Islands airline, which withdrew from Bournemouth in April 2009. Polish-based Wizzair also ran routes to Gdansk, Katowice and Krakow during 2006 and 2007.

Current routes

In 2007, Ryanair began to rapidly increase the number of services from the airport, initially starting routes to Marseille, Alicante, and Milan which brought the total to 8. In December, 2007, EasyJet announced a new seasonal route to Grenoble, bring the number of routes to 2. The route ceased at the end of the 2008 winter season. In 2008, Palmair introduced a new series of charter flights to Tunisia, Fuerteventura, Naples, Amalfi Coast and Rhodes. Olympic Holidays also launched new charter flights to Corfu and Zakynthos in Greece and Larnaca in Cyprus. On 9 January 2008, Ryanair announced that they would base one of their Boeing 737-800s at Bournemouth from April 2008. During the first quarter, the airline announced routes to Málaga, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Wroclaw and the re-introduction of the Nantes route. An additional flight each day was added to the Glasgow Prestwick route, with the addition of a twice-daily flight to Edinburgh. In May, Bergamo and Beauvais routes were announced to commence in October plus a new weekly ski flight to Turin for the winter season. Increasing from 14 routes, after the discontinuation of the Nantes route, to 18 - Carcassonne, Faro, Limoges and Reus were added to the route network in February 2009. June 2009 saw the announcement of a new Thomson Airways Boeing 737-800 to be based at the airport to add extra capacity to existing routes, plus the introduction of 5 new routes. The new destinations include Antalya, Bodrum, Corfu, Monastir and the airport's first regular long-haul destination, Sharm el-Sheikh.

In July 2009 the airport's busiest route to Glasgow-Prestwick was discontinued and an announcement soon followed to discontinue the Edinburgh route which ended on 27 March 2010.

In December 2009 bmibaby announced a new summer route to Jersey. This will be the first time the airline has operated out of the airport and will provide 3 services a week from the end of March 2010, using a Boeing 737-500. Again in December, Ryanair added 4 new routes to the network, bringing the total to 17. Another Boeing 737-800 will be based at the airport and the airline projects to fly 650,000 passengers per annum at Bournemouth.

Following the closure of European Aviation Air Charter, Palmair chartered various aircraft types from Jet2, Viking, Blue Line, Tor Air and Astraeus, before unveiling their new Astraeus-leased Boeing 737-500 (G-PJPJ) on 13 May 2009.

On 11 February 2010, Flybe announced that it is to start flights from Manchester to Bournemouth, linking up two airports of the Manchester Airport Group for the first time. These flights will start from 27 May 2010 and will be in direct competition to Flybe's own Manchester to Southampton flights.

Expansion

In 2007, the airport's owners, Manchester Airports Group, announced a £32 million investment in the redevelopment of the airport which mainly focuses on creating new car parking spaces in two separate car parks and building a new International Arrivals terminal. Part of these plans include screening off the current arrivals terminal with a three metre screen, with plans to ultimately phase out use of the building. On 21 June 2007, planning permission was granted to the scheme by Christchurch Council Planning Committee, despite public objections and protests. This was conditional, however, on a maximum of three million air passengers per annum, and required contributions to road systems, bus routes, and to use quieter aircraft.

With the budget increased to £45 million in July 2008, the upgrade will replace the arrivals terminal and upgrade the check-in and departure lounge areas. The number of aircraft stands would rise from 4 to 11. Christchurch Council and central government backed plans for the re-building of the airport terminal, increasing its size by 62%; work started in August 2007.

The development re-started in August 2008 with the runway being resurfaced, and a new Thales Cat IIIa ILS on Runway 26 with associated aerodrome ground lighting and IRVR were installed during December 2008. The main apron has been expanded to a total of 11 stands for aircraft of Boeing 737-800 size, including two stands for aircraft of Boeing 767-300 size, and construction of a car park towards the south boundary is underway.

Work on the terminal itself is now complete, where the check-in areas, security control and departure lounges have been upgraded. A new World Duty Free store has opened on the airside, as have a new WHSmith store and the UK's largest The Olive Tree eaterie. All remaining retail space has since been completed and opened. Replacement of the arrivals hall is set to begin at the end of Summer 2010 in preparation for Summer 2011 and has been announced to be the 'first of its kind' in the United Kingdom.

Improvements to the infrastructure around the airport include more frequent bus services to Bournemouth Interchange and traffic lights at the entrance to the airport are planned. Hurn village roundabout will also be revised.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Air Malta	Malta [seasonal]
Austrian Airlines operated by Tyrolean Airways	Innsbruck [seasonal]
BH Air	Burgas [seasonal]
EasyJet	Geneva [seasonal]
Eurocypria Airlines	Heraklion, Larnaca [All Seasonal]
Flybe	Manchester
Onur Air	Dalaman [seasonal]
Palmair	Brescia, Corfu, Dublin, Dubrovnik, Enfidha, Faro, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Jersey, Mahon, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife-South [All Seasonal]
Ryanair	All Year: Dublin [ends 29 October], Ibiza [ends 29 October], Malta [ends 30 October], Murcia [ends 30 October], Palma de Mallorca [ends 30 October], Pisa [ends 30 October], Valencia [ends 28 October] Seasonal: Alicante, Faro, Fuerteventura, Girona, Lanzarote, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Málaga, Tenerife-South
Thomas Cook Airlines	Antalya [begins 7 May; seasonal], Corfu [begins 2 May; seasonal], Dalaman [begins 6 May; seasonal], Monastir [begins 6 November; seasonal], Tenerife-South [begins 5 November; seasonal]
Thomson Airways	All Year: Málaga, Paphos, Sharm el-Sheikh, Tenerife-South Seasonal: Antalya, Bodrum, Corfu, Dalaman, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Monastir, Palma de Mallorca, Rhodes, Turin

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
Atlantic Airlines	Guernsey, Jersey
Aurigny Air Services	Edinburgh [seasonal]
Titan Airways	East Midlands

Traffic and statistics

Busiest Domestic and International Routes out of Bournemouth Airport (2009)

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	2008–2009 % Change	Airlines that serve(d)
1	United Kingdom - Edinburgh Airport	88,376	358%	Ryanair
2	Spain - Girona-Costa Brava Airport	85,600	18%	Ryanair
3	Spain - Málaga Airport	81,270	28%	Ryanair, Thomson Airways
4	Ireland - Dublin Airport	63,476	37%	Ryanair
5	Spain - Palma de Mallorca Airport	62,245	21%	Palmair, Ryanair, Thomson Airways
6	Spain - Alicante Airport	59,396	17%	Ryanair
7	Spain - Murcia-San Javier Airport	54,880	21%	Ryanair
8	Spain - Tenerife South Airport	40,258	19%	Palmair, Ryanair, Thomson Airways
9	Portugal - Faro Airport	37,395	15%	Palmair, Ryanair, Thomson Airways
10	United Kingdom - Glasgow Prestwick Airport	34,270	73%	Ryanair
11	Switzerland - Geneva Airport	28,061	16%	easyJet
12	Spain - Reus Airport	26,979		Ryanair, Thomson Airways
13	Italy - Pisa Airport	17,151	27%	Ryanair
14	Greece - Heraklion International Airport	15,068	2%	Eurocypria, Thomson Airways
15	France - Marseille Airport	12,522	26%	Ryanair
16	France - Limoges Airport	12,521		Ryanair
17	Spain - Lanzarote Airport	11,079	63%	Palmair, Ryanair
18	France - Carcassonne Salvaza Airport	10,943		Ryanair
19	Turkey - Dalaman Airport	9,524	13%	BMI, Onur Air, Thomson Airways
20	Spain - Ibiza Airport	8,930	44%	Thomson Airways

Bournemouth Airport saw a very small decline in the total number of passengers in 2008, with 6 of its busiest routes showing a drop in passengers. Despite this, 9 routes showed an increase in passengers flown, especially to Málaga and Glasgow-Prestwick, and two new routes to Murcia and Wrocław launched by Ryanair saw over 45,000 and almost 30,000 respectively using the service. As of 2010, there are no longer any routes to Poland and the airports busiest route to Glasgow–Prestwick has been axed. Passengers travelling to Dublin and Málaga during 2009 dropped significantly by 37% and 28% respectively, reflecting the dip in number of passengers for 2009. However, 10 routes of the top 20 have showed an increase in passengers flown and Thomson Airways has announced they are increasing capacity on existing routes and Ryanair are beginning to serve destinations already served by other airlines at Bournemouth.

	Number of Passengers	Number of Movements	Passengers Change YoY
2003	460,872	76,177	17.6%
2004	492,882	77,142	6.9%
2005	829,108	79,512	68.2%
2006	960,773	75,505	15.9%
2007	1,083,379	71,742	12.8%
2008	1,078,941	78,527	0.1%
2009	868,445	82,538	19.5%
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority

The jump of passengers in 2005 represents the new base of two Thomson Airways Boeing 737-300s at Bournemouth Airport and the decreases in 2008 and 2009 are as a result of the Late-2000s recession.

Accidents and incidents

On 28 January 1972, Vickers Viscount D-ANEF of Airwork Services was damaged beyond repair when the undercarriage collapsed after a heavy landing.

Shortly after 17:00 on 11 February 2006, millionaire adventurer Steve Fossett made an emergency landing at Bournemouth International Airport, after completing the longest non-stop flight in history, having covered 25,766 miles (41,466 km) in 76 hours and 43 minutes. Fossett had planned to end his flight 144 miles (232 km) further away at Kent International Airport, but the failure of an electrical generator on board the Virgin Atlantic Global Flyer forced him to issue a Mayday call and land in limited visibility, bursting two tyres as he touched down.

Between 15 April and 21 April 2010, Bournemouth Airport was closed as a result of the volcanic eruptions by Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland. The eruptions caused severe disruptions to services as the UK government deemed it necessary to close air space until ash ejected into the stratosphere had subsided. It was originally feared that disruptions could continue as the last eruption lasted around 16 months. Services resumed on 22 April.

Industrial park

The airport has a 200-acre (0.81 km²) industrial park, including offices and hangars. In early March 2009, Manchester Airport Developments Ltd completed the construction of Cirrus Court, a development of 14 industrial units which is the first part of a number of phases to redevelop the northern aviation sector.

See also

Media related to Bournemouth Airport at Wikimedia Commons