Southampton Airport

Southampton Airport Template:Airport codes is an international airport located in both Eastleigh and Southampton, Hampshire, in England. The airport is located Template:Convert north-northeast of central Southampton.<ref name="aip"/> The southern tip of the runway lies within the Southampton unitary authority boundary with most of the airport, including all of the buildings, within the Borough of Eastleigh.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Efn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The airport handled nearly two million passengers during 2016, an 8.8% increase compared with 2015,<ref name="stats"/> making it the 18th busiest airport in the UK. Southampton Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P690) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction. The airport is owned and operated by AviAlliance, which also owns and operates Aberdeen and Glasgow airports. It was previously owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings (formerly known as BAA).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Up to March 2020, 95% of the flights from Southampton were operated by Flybe. However, the airline went into administration on 5 March 2020 with all flights cancelled.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> When Flybe was purchased and relaunched, it was announced that they would start serving Southampton Airport from the 23 July 2022.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The reincarnated Flybe ultimately ceased operations nine months after its relaunch.

History

Aviation began at the site in 1910 when pioneer pilot Edwin Rowland Moon used the meadows belonging to North Stoneham Farm as a takeoff and landing spot for his monoplane, Moonbeam Mk II.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The site became known as Eastleigh Airfield.<ref name="Humby2019">Template:Cite web</ref>

First World War

The Royal Flying Corps earmarked the site as an aircraft acceptance base during the First World War, but when forces from the United States Navy Air Service (NAS) arrived in 1917 it was handed over to them and designated NAS Eastleigh.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Work on the building of hangars which had begun under the Royal Flying Corps was accelerated.<ref name="Humby2019" /> At the peak of the American presence, some 4,000 officers and men were billeted in tents and huts along the adjacent London to Southampton railway line.<ref name="Humby2019" />

Inter-War years

"Map of Air Routes and Landing Places in Great Britain, as temporarily arranged by the Air Ministry for civilian flying", published in 1919, showing "Eastleigh" as a "military and civil station".

After the war, the site became a transit camp for refugees, mainly Russian, who wished to sail to America from the port of Southampton. Shipping companies Cunard and White Star Line (the Oceanic Steam Navigation Company), together with the Canadian Pacific Railway, formed the Atlantic Park Hostel Company to house them temporarily. In 1921, the hangars were converted into dormitories, kitchens and dining rooms.<ref name='1e'>Template:Cite web</ref>

The hostel was intended as a short-term clearing house for those trans-migrants changing ships, but following changes to United States immigration law which restricted entry under national origins quotas, some residents were forced to stay much longer. In 1924 about 980 Ukrainian Jewish would-be emigrants were cared for at the hostel. Some of them were still there seven years later, stranded between the US and UK which would not accept them, and unable to return to the countries they had fled. Atlantic Park had a school, library, and synagogue; the refugees formed football teams that played local sides and took part in local events, such as Eastleigh carnival. At the height of its use, 20,000 passed through Atlantic Park in 1928 but then numbers started to fall away, leading to the closure of the hostel in 1931.<ref name="1e" />

In 1932, Southampton Corporation purchased the site, and it became Southampton Municipal Airport.<ref name="1d" /> This was allowed for by the Southampton Corporation Act 1931, which allowed for the creation of a public aerodrome.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> By 1935, part of the site was being used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) and was briefly known as RAF Eastleigh before it became RAF Southampton in 1936. Also in 1936, Supermarine opened a flight test facility on the site and built a large new Flight Shed at the south end of the aerodrome in 1937-38, and construction of the vast Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft factory between this and Wide Lane soon followed. The latter factory was better known post-war for production of the Ford Motor Company's Transit vans until this finally closed in 2013 - leaving only the almost forgotten Supermarine Flight Shed which had accommodated so many Spitfires locally before their first flights and deliveries to the RAF. Sadly, despite its obvious historical significance, this 84-year-old building is now set for demolition and redevelopment with modern industrial units.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Second World War

The first test flight of the Supermarine Spitfire took place at the airport on 5 March 1936, an event commemorated in 2004 by the erection of a two-thirds-size sculpture of K5054, the prototype Spitfire, at the road entrance. On 5 March 2006, five restored Spitfires took off from Southampton Airport to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the first test flight of the Spitfire. The local council wanted to rename the airport after R. J. Mitchell, designer of the Spitfire. However, the airport owner at the time, Heathrow Airport Holdings, did not agree.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The military site was transferred to naval command in 1939, renamed RNAS Eastleigh (HMS Raven), and spent most of the war in a ground and air training role for the Royal Navy. Owing to the 'HMS' designation in the airport's name, Nazi propaganda inaccurately reported that HMS Raven had been sunk when a bombing raid hit the airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It passed back into civilian ownership in April 1946.<ref name='1d'>Template:Cite web</ref>

Development after the Second World War

The Cierva Autogiro Company rented portions of the Cunliffe-Owen plants from 1946, but had to move to another location on the field when it was acquired by Briggs. In 1951, Saunders-Roe took over the interests of Cierva Autogyro and built a rotor testing building on the eastern side of the airfield, which is now derelict. They continued operations on the field until about 1960.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the 1950s, a mainstay of business for the airport was the cross-channel car ferry service operated by Silver City Airways using Bristol Freighters and Superfreighters.<ref name="1d" />

In 1959, Southampton (Eastleigh) Airport was purchased by racing pilot J.N. 'Nat' Somers, who laid the foundation for the regional airport that exists today by building the concrete runway in 1963 and negotiating with British Rail to build Southampton Airport Parkway railway station next to the airport. Somers also worked with the Department of Transport to plan for the new M27 motorway to pass through the airport just south of the runway and north of Ford's plant, at the same time installing a major roundabout outside the airport.<ref name="1d" /> This forward-thinking programme encouraged most of the airlines at Bournemouth (Hurn) airport to move to Southampton in the mid-1960s. In 1988 Somers' company sold the airport to Peter de Savary, who a few years later sold it to the owners of London Heathrow.<ref name="1d" />

In 1993, construction of a new terminal began after an investment of £27 million by BAA. It was completed in 1994 and opened by Prince Andrew, the Duke of York.<ref name="1d" />

21st century

In 2003, the airport reached one million passengers.<ref name="1d" />

In 2010, the airport arranged a series of events to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first flight at the airport.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012, the Olympic flame visited the airport as part of the torch relay for the 2012 Olympics, in London. In October 2014, Heathrow Airport Holdings reached an agreement to sell the airport, together with those at Glasgow and Aberdeen, for £1 billion to AGS Airports, a consortium of Ferrovial and Macquarie Group.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2016 the airport won the Airport of the Year award of the European Regional Airlines Association, having demonstrated extraordinary involvement with the local community and reducing its carbon footprint, whilst growing and expanding in a highly competitive market.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March of the same year, Aer Lingus Regional announced it would fly from Southampton to Cork Airport with an ATR 72, operated by Stobart Air. In 2017, the airport reached two million passengers. In 2019 Southampton was ranked third of 30 airports in the UK for customer satisfaction by Which? magazine, with a score of 77%.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 5 June Air Force One touched down in Southampton carrying then president, Donald Trump. He then travelled to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day. The Boeing 757 was the biggest jet ever to visit Southampton.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 9 December 2020, British Airways (BA CityFlyer) announced they would fly to 13 destinations, mainly holiday destinations, to Spain, Portugal, France, Austria, Italy and Greece. These flights filled the void left by Flybe.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 25 May 2023, easyJet announced that they would start flying to two domestic destinations, with twice weekly flights to Glasgow and thrice weekly flights to Belfast International starting at the end of October.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 7 November 2023, easyJet yet again announced they would start flying to two summer destinations, those being Faro once a week and Alicante once a week.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Not long after, easyJet announced the third summer route, a twice weekly service to Palma de Mallorca.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Operations

Apron at Southampton Airport

Interior view

Terminal

Southampton Airport has one terminal which has twelve stands. None of the stands are equipped with jet bridges. Inside the terminal, there are thirteen check-in desks. Facilities include coffee shops, bars, stationers, a duty-free shop and an upstairs lounge.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Airfield

Southampton Airport has one main ground handler, Swissport (Servisair), who took over from Aviance. They handle all passenger services and apron operations for all airlines except for Aurigny Air Services who operate their own ground handling.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Southampton has one asphalt runway, 02/20, which is now Template:Convert long and Template:Convert wide. Only runway 20 has an Instrument Landing System. Runway 02 has VOR/DME and NDB navigation aids. Visual approach is allowed on both runways.

In September 2019, the airport announced plans to extend its runway north by Template:Cvt to allow it to support larger aircraft which would enable longer routes. The airport stated aims to increase passenger numbers from 2Template:Nbspmillion to 5Template:Nbspmillion by 2037.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The airport managing director claimed that if the runway extension is not approved, the airport may have to close in 2021.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Work commenced on the 164m runway extension on 31 March 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The new 164Template:Nbspm runway extension became operational on 15 August 2023 with an official opening on 21 September. Attendees included then Aviation Minister, Baroness Vere, as well as then MP for Eastleigh, Paul Holmes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled services to and from Southampton:<ref>southamptonairport.com - Flight Timetables retrieved 1 November 2020</ref>

Statistics

Passenger numbers

Southampton Airport Passenger Totals 2002–2024 (thousands)

<timeline> ImageSize = width:auto height:250 barincrement:29 PlotArea = left:40 bottom:15 top:10 right:15 AlignBars = justify Period = from:0 till:2100 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical Colors = id:gray value:gray(0.5) id:line1 value:gray(0.9) id:line2 value:gray(0.7) ScaleMajor = start:0 increment:500 gridcolor:line2 ScaleMinor = start:0 increment:100 gridcolor:line1 PlotData= color:blue width:20 bar:2002 from:start till:789.325 bar:2003 from:start till:1218.634 bar:2004 from:start till:1530.776 bar:2005 from:start till:1835.784 bar:2006 from:start till:1912.979 bar:2007 from:start till:1965.686 bar:2008 from:start till:1945.993 bar:2009 from:start till:1789.901 bar:2010 from:start till:1733.690 bar:2011 from:start till:1762.076 bar:2012 from:start till:1694.120 bar:2013 from:start till:1722.758 bar:2014 from:start till:1831.732 bar:2015 from:start till:1789.470 bar:2016 from:start till:1947.052 bar:2017 from:start till:2069.910 bar:2018 from:start till:1991.014 bar:2019 from:start till:1781.457 bar:2020 from:start till:296.094 bar:2021 from:start till:263.131 color:blue bar:2022 from:start till:631.458 bar:2023 from:start till:754.931 bar:2024 from:start till:852.727 </timeline>

Updated: June 2021.<ref name="stats"/>

	Number of Passengers	Aircraft movements	Cargo (tonnes)
2001	857,670	48,204	332
2002	789,325	46,767	382
2003	1,218,634	51,423	322
2004	1,530,776	54,484	272
2005	1,835,784	58,045	204
2006	1,912,979	55,786	195
2007	1,965,686	54,183	297
2008	1,945,993	50,689	264
2009	1,789,901	45,502	209
2010	1,733,690	45,350	116
2011	1,762,076	45,700	132
2012	1,694,120	43,284	359
2013	1,722,758	40,501	133
2014	1,831,732	40,374	133
2015	1,789,470	39,379	185
2016	1,947,052	42,824	173
2017	2,069,910	39,285	200
2018	1,991,014	39,651	233
2019	1,781,457	36,473	203
2020	296,094	10,931	69
2021	263,131	8,464	23
2022	631,458	16,253	22
2023	754,931	21,998	33
2024	852,727	21,369	81
Source: CAA Official Statistics<ref name="stats"/>

Busiest routes

Two-thirds scale model Supermarine Spitfire prototype K5054 at Southampton Airport

Busiest routes to and from Southampton (2022)<ref name="routestats">Template:Cite web</ref>

Rank	Airport	Total passengers	Change 2021–22	Carrier(s)
1	Jersey	99,892	Template:Increase 85.7%	Blue Islands
2	Guernsey	97,364	Template:Increase 97.3%	Aurigny, Blue Islands
3	Edinburgh	81,766	Template:Increase 132.1%	British Airways, Loganair
4	Glasgow	75,002	Template:Increase 136.6%	Loganair
5	Belfast City (George Best)	61,422	Template:Increase 243.2%	Aer Lingus
6	Amsterdam	52,779	Template:Increase 461.4%	KLM
7	Newcastle	39,622	Template:Increase 104.6%	Loganair
8	Dublin	30,561	Template:Increase 300.2%	Aer Lingus, British Airways, Eastern Airways
9	Alderney	17,175	Template:Increase 104.5%	Aurigny
10	Palma de Mallorca	12,768	Template:Increase 263.1%	British Airways

Ground transport

Rail

Southampton Airport has a dedicated mainline railway station, Template:Stnlink. It is on the South West Main Line from Template:Stnlink (66 minutes away) to Winchester (15 minutes away), Southampton (city centre about 7 minutes away), Bournemouth, Poole, Dorchester and Weymouth, with a fast and frequent service to those places. The station is a 60-second walk from the terminal, one of the closest airport links in Europe.

Bus

Unilink buses run to Southampton city centre throughout the day. Taxis are available outside Arrivals.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Bluestar also runs services between Eastleigh and Hedge End aboard their 24 service hourly on the south-side of the train station.

Motorway

The airport is near the junction between the M3 motorway and M27 motorway, giving easy road access to Southampton, Winchester, Bournemouth, Poole, Portsmouth and places between.

Bicycle

Southampton Airport has designated parking and storage for bicycles. Southampton cycle route 7 is proposed to run just outside the airport, giving it a direct cycle path to the city centre. National Cycle Route 23 also runs outside the airport, running between Southampton and Reading via Basingstoke, Alresford, Winchester and Eastleigh.

Accidents and incidents

• On 10 June 1990, British Airways Flight 5390 suffered an explosive decompression over Didcot, Oxfordshire while flying from Birmingham to Málaga, Spain. The captain, Tim Lancaster, was partially ejected from the cockpitTemplate:Efn; co-pilot Alastair Atchison managed to land the plane safely at Southampton with no fatalities. Two crew members including Lancaster were seriously injured, but all passengers were unharmed. This accident appeared on the National Geographic television programme Air Crash Investigation (known as Mayday in some countries).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 26 May 1993, a Cessna 550 Citation II landed with a tailwind of Template:Convert, while the operating manual recommended a maximum safe tailwind of Template:Convert; this resulted in a landing distance requirement greater than that available at the airport. The plane overran the runway through the airport perimeter fence and onto the M27 motorway where it collided with two cars and caught fire. The two flight crew sustained minor whiplash injuries, and the three car occupants also sustained minor injuries. The aircraft was destroyed.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:Official website

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