London Oxford Airport

Oxford Airport Oxford/Kidlington Airport
IATA: OXF – ICAO: EGTK
Summary
Airport type		Private
Owner/Operator		Oxford Aviation Services Ltd.
Serves		Oxford
Location		Kidlington, Oxfordshire
Elevation AMSL		270 ft / 82 m
Coordinates		51°50′13″N 001°19′12″W / 51.83694°N 1.32°W / 51.83694; -1.32Coordinates: 51°50′13″N 001°19′12″W / 51.83694°N 1.32°W / 51.83694; -1.32
Website		London Oxford Airport
Map
EGTK Location in Oxfordshire
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
	m	ft
01/19	1,592	5,223	Asphalt
11/29	760	2,493	Asphalt
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1]

Oxford Airport^[2] (IATA: OXF, ICAO: EGTK), also known as London Oxford Airport or Kidlington Airport, is a privately owned airport located near Kidlington in Cherwell District, Oxfordshire, 6 NM (11 km; 6.9 mi) northwest by north of Oxford,^[1] 52 mi (84 km) from West London.^[3] It specialises in general and business aviation and is home to Oxford Aviation Academy, formerly Oxford Aviation Training, the largest air training school in Europe. It is the only ICAO-listed civilian airport in Oxfordshire, and along with Coventry, is one of the two commercial airports between Heathrow (LHR) and Birmingham (BHX). Historically dominated by pilot training, in 2008, flying activity fell to just 48,000 movements, the lowest level on record and a 70% decline in 10 years.

Oxford (Kidlington) Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P810) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Oxford Aviation Services Limited).^[4]

History

The airport was originally established in 1935 by Oxford City Council to act as municipal airport, but following RAF use (as RAF Kidlington) during World War II, it became established as a centre for aviation education, charter and maintenance facilities. By 1968, it had become the second busiest airfield in the UK, with 223,270 movements - just 10% fewer movements than Heathrow.^[5]

In 1981, the airport freehold was sold by the council and later owned by BBA Aviation plc. In July 2007 the airport was sold to property entrepreneurs David and Simon Reuben.^[6]

A new "Saturday only" summer service to Jersey, operated by Air Southwest, ran from July to September 2009.^[7] The summer service came back in 2010, operated by Cityjet.

In August 2009 the airport was rebranded as London Oxford Airport. The move attracted much press comment,^[8][9][10] and criticism from Oxford Civic Society, which described the new name as misleading;^[11] the airport is 59 miles (95 km) from Marble Arch.^[12] However, it was argued that highlighting proximity to London would make the airport more attractive to the overseas business aviation community.^[12]

In October 2009, London Oxford Airport was approved as a UK entry point for pets, under the Pet Travel Scheme (PETS).^[13] It is one of only two UK business aviation centres to offer this service.

In November 2009, Great Experience Travel was designated the Official Travel Partner for London Oxford Airport, concentrating on flights to Geneva and Jersey.

Swiss airline Baboo's weekly Saturday service, from Oxford to Geneva, commenced in December 2009. The service is augmented by a link to Rome through Alitalia Airlines: passengers were thus able to travel from Oxford to Rome, via Geneva.^[14]

In January 2010 the airport announced the launch of daily flights to Edinburgh to be operated by new start-up, Varsity Express. However, flights were suspended within a week of commencement, and the airline ceased operations on 8 March 2010.^[15] A spokesman for Oxford Airport later confirmed that talks were under way with other operators, with a view to re-establishing the Oxford-Edinburgh route.^[16] It was emphasised, however, that only well-established operators would be invited to service the route.

Plans for a 17,800 m² (192,000 sq ft) sq metre expansion of high-strength apron and a new 4,400 m² (47,000 sq ft) hangar were outlined at the end of July 2010.^[17] The intention was to create capacity for up to 40 medium to large executive jets, in order to cater for major public events such as the Olympics.

In February 2011, plans to begin direct flights from Oxford to Palma were revealed by Oxford Airport Travel.

In October 2011, it was announced that a one-off route from Oxford to New York via Dublin would take place on 7-12th December of the same year with Cityjet. The airport announced it is also trying to open a permanent route to Dublin in 2012 with Aer Lingus.

Current

Today, airport activity is split with 35% pilot flight training, 10% business aviation (both private and charter) and the balance being mainly private and recreational general aviation activity.

Principal companies based at Oxford Airport include Eurocopter, Hawker Beechcraft, Hangar 8, Jet Connections, PremiAir, Flairjet, AirMed, Pilot Flight Training and Capital Air Services. London Executive Aviation based their Embraer Legacy 600 jet at Oxford Airport in 2009,^[18] and announced plans to base a Cessna Citation Mustang very light jet (VLJ) at the facility thereafter.^[19]

This airport stands to benefit from the development of the VLJ market, with the roll-out of aircraft such as the Cessna Citation Mustang, Honda HA-420 HondaJet and Embraer Phenom 100s, as their profitability relies on curtailing operating costs.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines	Destinations
Blue Islands	Seasonal: Jersey

Expansion

The airport is currently looking to establish new routes out of the airport to help grow the airport and grow more into the comercial avaition market. The routes they are looking at are Edinburgh, Dublin, Munich, Amsterdam, Paris, Glasgow and Barcelona. These markets are key targets for the airport, all these routes are targeted at business travelers who currently have to use London Heathrow which is far less convenient. ^[20]

Technical information

The main runway is 1,552 m (5,092 ft).^[21] In 2007 the airport re-surfaced, strengthened and widened the main runway, taxiways and aprons, and installed new airfield ground lighting and a CAT 1 instrument landing system (ILS). In 2008 a new £2.5m business aviation terminal was completed and is operated by Oxfordjet. For the business aviation operator, the airport lies approximately one hour drive time from the west end of London but offers helicopter shuttles in 20 minutes.

Accidents and incidents

• In 1941, pioneer aviatrix Amy Johnson crashed in the Thames Estuary while on a flight en-route to Oxford Airport from Blackpool.
• On 6 December 2003, three people were killed at Oxford Airport when a Socata TBM 700 crashed while on approach. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch could find no cause for the crash.^[22] There were no technical problems with the plane, and they could only speculate that the pilot of the plane was distracted by a bird as he tried to land. The plane went into an uncontrolled roll, killing Paul-Louis Halley, a French billionaire, his wife and the pilot.
• An Oxford Aviation Training aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff in August 2006.^[23] The PA28 Piper Cherokee breached the airport’s perimeter fence, and came to a stop upside down on the adjoining public road. Despite significant aircraft damage and fuel leakage, no fire ensued, and no-one was hurt in the incident.
• On 15 January 2010, at about 1400GMT, a Piper PA-31 Navajo crashed by the A4095 (near the airport), killing two people. Four crews from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, and the South Central Ambulance Service, attended, but the fire was not put out for 1 hour and 40 minutes due to the icy conditions and remote location making laying hoses difficult. The UK's AAIB will investigate.^[24]

See also

• List of airports in the United Kingdom
• List of RAF stations
• Oxford-Cambridge Arc
• RAF Brize Norton
• London Airport (disambiguation)

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Oxford/Kidlington - EGTK
2. ^ Welcome to London Oxford Airport
3. ^ "Charing Cross to Oxford Airport". Google Maps. http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Charing+Cross,+SW1A&daddr=Oxford+Airport,+OX5&hl=en. Retrieved 2010-12-17. 
4. ^ Civil Aviation Authority Aerodrome Ordinary Licences
5. ^ Oxford Airport: Airport History Retrieved 2009-10-16
6. ^ Prosser, David (2007-07-21). "Reubens brothers buy Oxford airport". The Independent (London). http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article2788683.ece. 
7. ^ Air Southwest to operate Oxford-Jersey flights
8. ^ The Guardian : 18 August 2009 : New York, Paris...Oxford? Retrieved 2009-08-20
9. ^ The Telegraph : 19 August 2009 : London Oxford Airport - a Tale of Two Cities Retrieved 2009-08-20
10. ^ The Times : 19 August 2009 : Plane Speaking Retrieved 2009-08-20
11. ^ British Broadcasting Corporation : 17 August 2009 : London Airport Name Change Row Retrieved 2009-08-19
12. ^ ^{a b} Oxford Mail : Outrage at Airport Rebranding
13. ^ Oxford Mail : Airport offers VIP treatment for pets. Retrieved 2009-10-12
14. ^ Oxford Mail : Oxford Airport makes Italian connection. Retrieved 2009-12-10
15. ^ Oxford Mail:Edinburgh Flights Grounded A Week After Launch Retrieved 2010-03-11
16. ^ Oxford Mail : The fall of Varsity Express Retrieved 2010-03-20
17. ^ BBC News:London Oxford Airport sets out £2.2m expansion plan Retrieved 2010-30-07
18. ^ London Oxford Airport: Charter and Air Taxi Retrieved 2009-08-22
19. ^ London Executive Aviation : LEA Launches Mustang Service at Oxford Retrieved 2009-08-22
20. ^ http://www.therouteshop.com/london-oxford-airport/#routesTab
21. ^ Oxford Airport: General Airport Info Retrieved 2011-05-13
22. ^ AAIB Bulletin No: 5/2005. Ref EW/C2003/12/03 (PDF)
23. ^ AAIB Bulletin No: 2/2007, G-BYKR. Ref EW/C2006/08/06 (PDF) Retrieved 2009-10-17
24. ^ "Two people killed in plane crash". BBC News. 2010-01-15. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/8461861.stm. 

External links

• London Oxford Airport website