The Airport Operator - Autumn 2024
06 September 2024
Bournemouth Airport has had “the fastest recovery post-Covid of any UK airport”
Andrew Bell, CEO of Regional and City Airports, which owns and operates Bournemouth Airport (as well as Exeter and Norwich airports), told The Airport Operator that the airport had “the fastest recovery post-Covid of any UK airport”. It is forecasting a passenger total for the current year of 1.1m, compared to 880,000 in the year before the pandemic, which would be the highest that the airport has ever achieved.
The growth has been achieved by both Ryanair and TUI adding capacity and is expected to accelerate next year when Jet2 will open its 12th UK base at the airport. Bell said the success could be attributed to “perseverance and ingenuity”, with Bournemouth making a compelling case about demand in its wealthy and populous catchment area at a moment when all three airlines were able to take advantage of it.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth’s cargo business, established during the pandemic in response to the need for the NHS to import supplies quickly, is also “doing really well, way ahead of our expectations”, Bell said, describing it as “a completely new string to the airport’s bow”
