Business aviation grows at London Oxford in 2011

London Oxford Airport has continued to see its business aviation traffic grow in 2011. 
The airport now supports around 6,000 business aircraft movements a year (15%
of Oxford’s
overall aviation activity). As 2011 closes,
growth is up 12.2% compared with last year, according to independent analysis
by EuroControl. This
increase ranks Oxford fifth in the UK for business aviation activity at civil
airports, ahead of London
Stansted Airport.

“This continued growth in
our business aviation traffic is great news,” said James Dillon-Godfray,
business development director at London
Oxford Airport. 
“It proves the attraction of our airport to business and VIP travellers and
justifies the on-going investment by the owners and the outstanding commitment
of the London Oxford Airport
and oxfordjet FBO team.”

The airport has had some
important improvements during the year, the installation of the new Thales
primary and secondary surveillance radar, it is undergoing testing and should
be ready and operational ahead of the 2012 London Olympics. Early in the year,
the runway licensed lengths were increased by 21% allowing heavier business
jets such as the E-Jet and ACJ318/319 to land at the airport. The airport is
now a regular stop for larger long haul jets like the Gulfstream G550. The
airport also boasted new apron space at the beginning of the year.

London Oxford has begun work
on new office buildings, the first in 30 years at the airport. A new entrance
and reception building should be finished during 2012. 

The airport is to explore
the opportunity to expand the 150 bedroom complex with the potential of adding more bedrooms to a new facility.

In
2012, London Oxford will start the next improvement project where new hangars
and a fire station will be built, facilitated by the relocation of the taxiway.
These hangars will be large enough to accept the next generation of regional
airliners and larger business jets.

Companies based at the
airport are all growing and a new charter operator Fly Vectra operating
Citation Excels is now based at London Oxford.

There will be a new rail
link at Kidlington that will connect to London Marylebone, making London within an hour of
the airport by public transport. Another link will be to Milton Keynes and Bedford announced as part
of the National Infrastructure Programme by the UK Government. 

London Oxford
Airport is gearing up for the 2012 London Olympics, which is anticipated to boost business
aviation traffic potentially threefold.  With Oxford being situated outside the 2012 London ‘Restricted Zone’, there will be no
flight plan constraints. The airport is also outside the congested London
Terminal Manoeuvring Area (LTMA) which is usually the busiest airspace in Europe and will be even busier during the Olympics. Oxford’s opening hours, 06:00-22:30, seven days a week,
are notably longer than several other London
alternative airports and the airport has the option of extending the opening
hours to midnight during the peak Olympic period, if required. The airport also has full-time, on-site Police/Special
Branch support for assistance with VVIP, Head-of-State, close protection and
all other security necessities. In addition, Thames Valley Police
HQ is next to the airport, complete with an armoury.

“London Oxford
Airport has many benefits over other London airports and with the 2012 Olympics
fast approaching, we’re ideally positioned to accommodate the inevitable
increase in business aviation,” said James Dillon-Godfray “Being located to the
north west of London, with access to the capital via the fastest UK motorway,
the M40, with the least congestion of
any London arterial route, is a notable advantage.  The London
Oxford Airport
team is very excited about 2012 and the Olympics in particular – we anticipate
a record breaking year.”