Contributor - UK

Kate Sarsfield

The global pandemic has revitalized the business aviation market, thanks largely to a cornucopia of high-net-worth individuals—often new to the sector—choosing the security of private cabins and&nbsp;terminals rather than risking crowded airliners and airports.&nbsp;London Biggin Hill Airport has been a beneficiary of this new trend in VIP travel, with the dedicated business aviation hub, located 14km from the UK capital, experiencing one of the busiest periods in its history.
“The 5,000 aircraft movements in the first quarter were more than 40 percent higher than during the same period in 2020,&nbsp;which&nbsp;at&nbsp;3,460&nbsp;was a fairly strong period for the airport. And we have broken our year-on-year movement record every month since July 2021,” said Biggin Hill Airport commercial director Robert Walters.&nbsp;This surge is also reflected in the hub’s annual aircraft movement tally, which jumped by nearly 30 percent between 2020 and 2021, rising from 14,700 to 18,900.
“We expect this trend to continue this year as the knock-on effect of the pandemic continues to energize&nbsp;business aviation and awaken swathes of new travellers to the significant time savings&nbsp;that private aircraft can offer,” Walters added.
Biggin Hill works diligently to retain and attract VIP traffic within the ultra-competitive London market. Rivals include Farnborough, London City, Luton, and Stansted airports, as well as smaller airfields and Oxford and Southend further afield.
According to&nbsp;Walters, Biggin Hill’s market share of the London-area traffic has grown from 11 percent of movements around seven years ago to more than 22 percent today, with its ranking “flitting between second and third place in the lineup” with Luton.&nbsp;Farnborough Airport—located 54 km southwest of the capital—is “number one,”&nbsp;said Walters, “however, between us, we draw in over 50 percent&nbsp;of London’s business aviation traffic.”
He attributed&nbsp;Biggin Hill’s success to its compelling “value-added offering” for business aircraft operators and passengers, along with “excellent” third-party services on-site.
Resident “key anchor tenants” include motor racing giant&nbsp;Formula 1, helicopter operator and maintenance provider Castle Air, charter and management company Zenith, Pilatus Aircraft distributor and service centre Oriens, FBO&nbsp;Signature Flight Support, completions firm JET MS, and Bombardier.
Walters said the airport recently completed construction of Bombardier’s maintenance, repair, and overhaul facility following a two-year building program. Located on the east side of the airport, the&nbsp;Canadian airframer’s new base consists of 650,000 sq ft of apron space and a 250,000-sq-ft hangar that can house 14 ultra-long-range Global 7500s at once. This structure complements a second, much smaller MRO hangar on the airport site that Bombardier has occupied since 2017.
The quantity and quality of Biggin Hill’s tenants persuaded airport management to build an on-site hotel. Construction began in&nbsp;March 2021 and the four-star, 54-room hotel—dubbed The Landing and located on the south side of the airport—is scheduled to open by year-end.&nbsp;“Our hotel general manager has been in post for nine months now, and we are looking forward to welcoming the first guests, which will largely consist of airport visitors, flight crew, and engineers,” said Walters.
A new FBO terminal building is also planned, but Walters admitted that the pandemic has slowed down its&nbsp;development. “We are dusting off the plans and ramping the project back up again, but we have no fixed timeframe for the building work as of yet,” said Walters.
This year should mark completion of the airport’s perimeter road upgrade program and the long-awaited approval of a new instrument approach for Runway 3, designed to add capability at both ends of its main runway. Walters estimated&nbsp;that this validation could increase traffic by around 10 percent.
Looking to the future, Biggin Hill has earmarked a “parcel of land” on the east side of the airport that it plans to dedicate to electric aircraft and future flight.&nbsp;“We would like to develop the infrastructure to support the new wave of urban air mobility (UAM) aircraft that are coming down the road,” according to&nbsp;Walters. “Given our proximity to central London, Biggin Hill is an ideal location to base these new aircraft, which could eventually replace helicopter services into the city.”&nbsp;
For now, helicopter service provided by tenant&nbsp;Castle Air offers customers a six-minute transit to London Heliport, which Walters believes is a “compelling part of Biggin Hill’s time-saving value proposition.”
Linked to the airport’s sustainability agenda is a plan to erect a solar farm adjacent to the planned UAM facility. Walters expects the site to generate 20 gigawatts of clean energy&nbsp;to power the envisioned&nbsp;UAM operation—including aircraft charging points—and feed any excess energy into the national grid. Walters described Biggin Hill’s green agenda as “key to the airport’s future” and noted that April marked the one-year anniversary&nbsp;of the introduction of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) sales at the site.
Despite the fanfare, Walters conceded that uptake of its SAF—a 35 percent&nbsp;blend supplied by Air bp—has been disappointing. He attributes this hesitance to a combination of pricing and a lack of education among VIP travelers and operators surrounding the benefits of SAF to the environment.
“We need to work with bp to increase understanding of sustainable fuel, as many people are sceptical and do not appreciate its value,” said Walters. Compared with standard jet fuel, SAF is expensive, Walters continued, especially on a transatlantic flight where the difference can amount to thousands of dollars. “On a short-haul flight—from London to southern France for example—the cost difference runs into the hundreds of dollars, making SAF is a more appealing proposition.”

New developments at airports including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

Biggin Hill Airport Plots Future

London Biggin Hill Airport in the UK is a beneficiary of high-net-worth individuals choosing to fly privately.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Charles Alcock

News about bills, laws, regulations and other governmental decisions affecting aviation and aerospace. Topics include FAA re-authorizations, taxes on fuel and aviation activities, environmental legislation, ICAO decisions, governmental mediation of labor conflicts and World Trade Organization disputes and decisions.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Helsinki city officials want to build housing on the historic site and nature reserve

Campaigners Push To Reopen Helsinki's Malmi Airport

Hanneke Weitering

New developments at FBOs including regulations and noise issues; legal disputes; openings, acquisitions and mergers.

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

Electric aircraft and ground vehicles can now charge at KBAF in western Massachusetts

Atlantic and Beta Add Aircraft Chargers in Massachusetts

Curt Epstein

News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

Airport ground vehicles create a memorable holiday light display

Czech Airport Lights Up with Holiday Spirit

Matt Thurber

ADS-B and computer vision enables system to detect landing and on-runway traffic

Purdue Polytechnic Patenting Runway Status Lights 

Galesburg's airport will be renamed for a hometown aviation legend

Illinois Airport To Honor Local Aviator, FBO Owner

AmyWilder

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

News and issues relating to civil and military unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) of all kinds and sizes, including those used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), combat (unmanned combat air vehicles, or UCAVs), law enforcement, research and other applications. Of particular focus is the FAA's planned integration of UAS into the U.S. national airspace system.

New operator plans upgrades and eVTOL integration

New Operator, Upgrade for Downtown Manhattan Heliport

KTPF accepts night flights for the first time since September

Tampa GA Airport Now Fully Operational after Storms

Peter Shaw-Smith

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

EBACE 2022

In this article

Biggin Hill Airport

More In Airports