Oxford Airport ready for take off with new euro holiday destinations (From thisisoxfordshire)

Oxford Airport ready for take off with new euro holiday destinations

7:49pm Sunday 19th July 2009 in

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HOLIDAYMAKERS and businessmen could soon be able to fly from Oxford Airport to European cities such as Amsterdam, Paris and Geneva, it emerged last night.

Bosses at the Kidlington-based airport have been in discussion with several operators about starting daily business flights to European capitals, as well as offering further weekly charter flights for tourists.

There has never been a charter flight from Kidlington to mainland Europe in the airport’s 70-year history, but a raft of destinations will be confirmed by the end of the year, with planes expected to fly out in 2010.

James Dillon Godfray, head of marketing and development, said routes being discussed for daily business flights included Geneva, Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Dublin, Belfast and Newcastle on weekdays.

Plymouth and Newquay are being considered for weekly holiday charters and Swiss ski resorts Sion is among destinations being talked about for winter flights.

Mr Dillon Godfray said an official announcement on which routes will be available for 2010 is expected to be made later this year.

He said: “Since we have got a new building, there are opportunities to do other routes.

“No decisions have been taken, but before the end of this year we will have decided.

“It’s very easy for us to accept a couple of extra flights a day.”

It comes after the airport’s first charter flight for 19 years – a weekly Saturday service to Jersey – started last week by CI Travel in planes flown by Air Southwest.

The flights have been a success, with 75 per cent of tickets sold in advance for the 11-week service.

Christina Howell, the head of external affairs at the Oxfordshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a hugely positive step.

“Many of our large organisations have problems with international travel, so flying from Oxford would be really beneficial.

“These connections are so crucial in developing a strong business community and they also would help generate inward business investment.

“This would make Oxfordshire stand out again as a good business region.”

The airport has plenty of spare capacity for expansion into charter flights as overall aircraft movements have plummeted by three quarters since 1998 as the Oxford Aviation Academy has moved the bulk of its pilot training to Arizona in the US.

It now hopes to capitalise on local passengers who have to travel to airports such as Birmingham, Heathrow, Bristol or Luton for flights.

Mr Dillon Godfray said flights would be run by small turbo prop aeroplanes, operating within a 450-mile radius of Oxford and with a maximum capacity of 80 seats.

He said Edinburgh had a “high probability” of being chosen as a route as local passenger surveys by the Civil Aviation Authority showed a demand for the service.

Stefan Wynne-Jones, chairman of the Oxford Association of Hotels and Guest Houses, said: “It would be great if someone could bring new tourists and business people into the city through the airport.”

Colin Cook, board member for city development, said: “It’s good in terms of economic development of the city and it’s good people are able to go abroad from Oxford. But air travel is not always the best means of travel for the environment.”

In the 1960s, the airport in Langford Lane, Kidlington, had the busiest single runway in the world, with 235,000 movements per year. Now it handles only 45,000 movements per year.

cwalker@oxfordmail.co.uk To keep tabs on changes at the airport log on to oxfordairport.co.uk