Gloucestershire Airport , formerly Staverton Airport, is a small airport at Churchdown, England. It lies west of Cheltenham, near the city of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

and close to the

M5 motorway The M5 is a motorway in England linking the Midlands with the South West England, South West. It runs from junction 8 of the M6 motorway, M6 at West Bromwich near Birmingham to Exeter in Devon. Heading south-west, the M5 runs east of West Brom ...

. Its operator claims it to be Gloucestershire's largest

general aviation General aviation (GA) is defined by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as all civil aviation aircraft operations with the exception of commercial air transport or aerial work, which is defined as specialized aviation services ...

airfield, and it is regularly used for private charter flights to destinations such as

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

and Guernsey.

History

An airfield was opened in 1931, named after the local village of Down Hatherley; the change of name to Staverton followed relocation to the present site, near Staverton village. The airfield served as a training base for pilots during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

and was known as RAF Staverton. It was later used by

Alan Cobham Sir Alan John Cobham, KBE, AFC (6 May 1894 – 21 October 1973) was an English aviation pioneer. Early life and family As a child he attended Wilson's School, then in Camberwell, London. The school relocated to the former site of Croydo ...

as he developed

in-flight refuelling Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) while both aircraft ...

. A

pillbox Pillbox may refer to: * Pill organizer, a container for medicine * Pillbox hat, a woman's hat with a flat crown, straight upright sides, and no brim * Pillbox (military) A pillbox is a type of blockhouse, or concrete dug-in guard-post, norm ...

that was part of the

British anti-invasion preparations of the Second World War British anti-invasion preparations of the Second World War entailed a large-scale division of military and civilian mobilisation in response to the threat of invasion (Operation Sea Lion) by German armed forces in 1940 and 1941. The British Ar ...

can still be found opposite the main airfield entrance. With its proximity to Cheltenham, it was also used extensively by the U.S. Army, particularly the

Service of Supply The Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supp ...

under its commanding general, Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee, who was responsible for all supply and administrative functions of U.S. forces in Britain, beginning in May 1942. After the war, what is now

Smiths Group Smiths Group plc is a British, multinational, diversified engineering business headquartered in London, England. It operates in over 50 countries and employs 14,600 staff. Smiths Group has its origins in a jewellery shop, ''S Smith & Sons'', ...

used the airport as a test site for various aircraft. At the same time the airport provided scheduled services to the

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

and

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

. In the 1960s the Skyfame Museum, dedicated to World War II aircraft, opened. In the 1990s, both the Police Aviation Services and

Bond Air Services Babcock Mission Critical Services Onshore, formerly Bond Air Services ( Bond Aviation Group), is an operator of air ambulance, police, and offshore windfarm helicopters in the UK. Babcock operates a mixed fleet of light twin-engine helicopters c ...

stationed helicopters and their headquarters at Staverton. In 1993, its name was changed to Gloucestershire Airport in an effort to "reflect its increasing prominence as the business aviation centre for the county". During the 1990s, Staverton was the home of the MidWest production facility where the company manufactured the

MidWest AE series The MidWest AE series are lightweight, liquid-cooled, single- and twin-rotor Wankel engines, with dual ignition, designed for light aircraft. They were produced by Mid-West Engines Ltd. at Staverton Airport, Gloucestershire, UK. History This en ...

of single- and twin-rotor

Wankel Wankel may refer to: * Wankel engine, a type of internal combustion engine using an eccentric rotary design instead of reciprocating pistons * Wankel AG, a German company that produces Wankel engines for ultralight aircraft and racing cars People ...

aero-engines for light aircraft. The twin-rotor engine was first installed into two

ARV Super2 The ARV Super2 (''Air Recreational Vehicle'') is a British two-seat light aircraft with strut-braced shoulder wings and tricycle landing gear. Designed by Bruce Giddings, the Super2 was available either factory-built or as a kit. It was ...

aircraft. Midwest was eventually closed down, and its assets bought by Austrian manufacturer

Diamond Aircraft Industries Diamond Aircraft Industries is a Chinese-owned manufacturer of general aviation aircraft and motor gliders, based in Austria. It is the third largest manufacturer of aircraft for the general aviation sector, and has manufacturing facilities i ...

. Between 2013 and 2017,

Citywing Citywing (a trading name of Citywing Aviation Services Limited) was an Isle of Man-based company that sold seats on scheduled air flights operated under charter. Flights linked several airports in the British Isles, with the company having a ba ...

operated scheduled flights from the airport, describing it as "Gloucester (M5) Airport" and marketing it as an alternative to

Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Borou ...

, Bristol Airport and to a lesser extent

Oxford Airport London Oxford Airport , formerly known as Kidlington Airport, is a privately owned airport located near Kidlington in Cherwell District, Oxfordshire, northwest by north of Oxford, from Central London. It specialises in general and business ...

Expansion

In 2009, the airport was granted planning permission for expansion, first proposed in 2006, which included lengthening a runway. The plans were controversial and proved divisive amongst the local community and authorities. In March 2015, Gloucestershire Airport announced that it will look to provide more flights, more hangars and more profits in the coming years as part of a new vision for the transport hub. The business plan will see £6million invested in the airport between 2015 and 2025.

Services and facilities

Many of the flights to and from the airport are for business purposes, but there are also recreational flights and training flights. The airport houses several flying clubs for private pilots including Bristol Aero Club, Cotswold Aero Club and the Staverton Flying School alongside commercial pilot training from Aeros and Skyborne Aviation. Specialist helicopter trainers JK Helicopter Training and Heli Air also provide gift/pleasure helicopter flights. People are able to undertake their pilot's licence training at the airport. Also based at the airport is the Little Jet Company, which has a fleet of Citation Bravo and King Air 350 business jets that can be chartered around Europe. The airport has a pilot shop, and is also home to The Aviator restaurant and bar. There is a live video camera, aimed on a bearing of 255 degrees, just south of due west.

Airlines and destinations

The majority of Gloucestershire Airport's movements are operated by private aircraft.

previously flew a minimum of five weekly to the Isle of Man during the winter months and up to 25 times weekly during the summer peak season. The Jersey route was flown three times per month during the peak season between July and September, but was not operated during the winter months. This service ended in March 2017, after the airline was liquidated.

Traffic statistics

Events

On 14 November 2014, BBC Radio Gloucestershire and its listeners set a new world record for the longest line of cakes, to raise money for Children in Need. Volunteers around the region baked 14,392 cupcakes which were laid in a line at the airport. At about 16:45 GMT, an adjudicator from Guinness confirmed the breaking of the world record which now stands at of cakes. The previous record of was set in Colombia in 2013.

References

External links

* {{Transport in Gloucestershire Transport in Gloucestershire Airports in South West England