Flights from Exeter Airport
With improved facilities and the excellent choice routes, travellers are increasingly seeing Exeter as their airport of choice in the south west.
Following the development of the first floor bar and new air-side gourmet coffee shop in 2008, 2009 saw the opening of the WH Smith new store in the Departure Lounge to compliment their land-side outlet. It offers passengers awaiting their flights a range of books, newspapers, magazines, confectionery products and travel accessories. World Duty Free also extended their shopping experience. In their spacious setting they have a great selection of exclusive, great value fragrances together and a fantastic range of premium spirits and whiskeys.
There has been a decade of improvements at Exeter Airport. The Arrivals building was opened in 1999 by the Princes Royal and the current Departure Lounge was built in 2003. Two years later the Terminal frontage was extended to allow more room for passengers to check-in. The expansion and development will continue as the Airport meets customer demands. read more
About Exeter Airport Continued
It all started back in January 1932 when the then Exeter Corporation became of the first Municipal authorities to develop an airport. The Airport was officially licensed for public use in September 1937 and formally opened by the Air Minister, Sir Kingsley Wood on in July 1938. Airline services had already been inaugurated in June 1937, when Jersey Airways introduced summer services from the Channel Islands. The Airport was requisitioned by the MOD for military use in June 1940 and re-named RAF Exeter. During the wartime it was used by the RAF for many functions including air defence, particularly of Plymouth, Exeter and major naval ports such as Plymouth Docks, Portland and Portsmouth. It was also used for flying training by American forces as a launch point for their airborne troops operating as part of the D Day landings.
To facilitate large military aircraft operations from Exeter the MOD constructed three hard surface runways in 1940. Whilst all three runways still exist today, only one now remains in operational use, 08/26 and this has been extended over subsequent years to its current length of 2083m.
The MOD decommissioned RAF Exeter in July 1946 and control of the Airport was then passed to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1st January 1947. Exeter Airport Limited was formed as a Management Company and the aerodrome continued as a regional base for flying training of RAF reservists. Several companies also used the site for the construction, repair and maintenance of light aircraft.
In 1954 a Civilian Anti-Aircraft Co-Operation Unit was formed and managed by Exeter Airport Limited to provide target-towing facilities for gun emplacements in the West of England. Commercial Airline Operations were restarted in 1952 by Jersey Airlines, flying primarily to the Channel Islands. In 1958 the MOD (Air) acquired the Airport from its former owner Exeter City Council and it remained in their ownership until 1972 when it was sold to a consortium of Devon County Council (DCC), Exeter City Council and Torbay Council. DCC acquired sole ownership in 1974 and set up Exeter and Devon Airport Limited to manage the airport. This was the arrangement until the sale of the airport in January 2007 when Regional and City Airports Ltd officially purchased the airport from Devon County Council for £60 million. The company is backed by the investment expertise and infrastructure development skills of Balfour Beatty, a world-class engineering, construction, services and investment business responsible for creating and caring for essential assets, utility systems and major structures.
Today the Airport handles around 1 million passengers per year and has routes to over 50 destinations in a score of countries. The annual contribution to the local economy is over £100m with the Airport site employing 1,400 workers and supporting a further 750 jobs in the region.
Exeter is a major hub for Royal Mail distribution; it has the largest regional aircraft maintenance base in Europe and the new aviation Training Academy will be opened in late 2010.
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