Gloucestershire Airport gains 150 metres of runway
Airport passes milestone as the CAA publish increased runway length.
Gloucestershire Airport passed a major milestone when the UK Civil Aviation Authority officially recently published the airport’s increased runway distances.
The airport only laid 12 metres of additional tarmac, having removed obstacles close to the runway it now means the landing distances available for aircraft have increased by up to 150 metres. This extra length enables corporate and business aircraft to carry better payloads over further range and land with more passengers aboard.
Head of operations, Darren Lewington said “This is arguably the most significant point in the project. The extra runway distances make a huge difference to the operators of the larger aircraft that currently use the Airport and will generate additional business for us.”
Lewington continued “With the closure of Filton airport near Bristol at the end of the year, there is already additional demand from corporate aircraft flying to the southwest of Engand. Being minutes from the M5, we’re well placed to capture that traffic and help to boost the local economy.”
“In practical terms, we’re only talking about a handful of extra flights during the weekdays, but these aircraft generate significantly higher landing fees and greater fuel sales than the lighter training aircraft. The knock on effect in the region is also significant. These aircraft and their crews will use local taxis, hotels, caterers and other ancillary services,” added Lewington.
The final stage of the project sees the installation of an Instrument Landing System (ILS) enabling aircraft to land in bad weather.
“We expect the ILS to be fully functional within the next six weeks and that the CAA will publish the new procedures for it early in 2013, once all the relevant tests and safety checks are complete,” Lewington concluded.
