Message from the Bournemouth Airport Consultative committee
It appears, following the Prime Minister’s recent statement, that the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned on, albeit dimly.
We are now planning for the recovery of passenger operations at Bournemouth and have set an initial marker in the sand for mid-May. Nevertheless, plans have constantly changed over the past months and we will have to stay adaptable to the realities of the situation.
Our challenge now is to prepare the Airport and its staff for the beginning of operations. There is lots of work to be done, as we review our facilities and resources to meet this need. We are all very excited at the prospect of working to some form of normality! Notwithstanding, passenger numbers this year will be markedly less than in previous years which is to be expected in the current climate. As a leisure-focussed airport, we are hoping that the population’s enthusiasm for overseas holidays might see us improve on our current cautious planning.
Our cargo facility at Bournemouth has now been fully-established. We are licensed, equipped and prepared to manage cargo aircraft, imports and exports, from across the world. Having said that, this business is in its infancy and will take time to build interest and schedules to a range of destinations. We continue to import PPE from China on a daily basis and, after a successful schedule prior to Christmas, we have recently seen the return of flights to JFK 3 times a week. We are hoping that we might build on this with our current customers to other locations in North America. All of this has been achieved within our current operating hours.
Despite Covid, we have seen an increased overall flight movements with December being a record over previous years. This is heartening after such a challenging year. We now have a new helicopter training organisation arrived at the Airport, Cobham has been taken over by Draken but continues to fly for the MoD and XLR continues to go from strength to strength with its corporate jet facility.
Bournemouth Airport relies on the support of its aviation community, established businesses and the loyalty of its passenger base. A central part of the local community, the Airport’s success is everyone’s success and we continue to work hard to ensure the development, growth and viability of the Airport for years to come.
The schedule for 2021/2022 can be found on Welcome to Bournemouth Airport or our website here
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