London Oxford Airport embarks on major development program

As part of a new strategic plan, London Oxford Airport has commenced construction work on a new development phase which will, when complete this autumn, be its most significant step forward to date.  Central to the work is a 63,000 ft² (6,000 m²) 140 m-long hangar with two bays including rear offices, stores and workshops, capable of accommodating up to six Bombardier Global, Gulfstream or Dassault Falcon Jet models, simultaneously. The new hangar, the airport’s 15^th, is the first facility in a new zone of the airport to the north of the original site.  

The hangar will be used predominantly by established tenants, many of whom reside in some of the older WWII facilities, along with a number of larger business aircraft for which there has been limited capacity at Oxford.  The airport will progressively replace 80-year-old hangars with new, bespoke facilities, providing turnkey solutions for clients.

With demand for space consistently outpacing supply within the London region, the airport is committed to invest in infrastructure to accommodate more business and allow established companies, such as Airbus Helicopters, Volare Aviation and Jet Maintenance International (JMI) to expand. The airport is home to a number of aviation support businesses (MROs) that cover maintenance, engineering, modification, design, and operational support services.  The new environmentally-efficient facilities will support existing aircraft and future next-gen aircraft, including eVTOL and hybrid/electric models. 

Additional infrastructure has included the feeding-in of significantly more power onto the site. The projects have been overseen these past 12 months by Will Curtis, who joined London Oxford Airport as Managing Director in 2020.

A large area of new aircraft parking apron has been created and also seven new ICAO/EASA/CAA-compliant helipads supporting Airbus Helicopters and the growing number of commercial AOC helicopter businesses at the airport, like MyHeli.  These complement operations with the co-owned Edmiston London Heliport, London’s only CAA-licensed heliport, which supports up to 12,000 movements each year and the capital’s essential police and air ambulance flights. 

London Oxford Airport will also commence work on a new fire station to be established in a central position on the airport. This will allow for fulfilling the need for the highest fire categories at all times having also just ordered three new Angloco Scania 26 ton fire tenders. 

A new fuel farm will enable a quadrupling of the capacity of the original facility, whilst also providing valuable space for additional future static tankage for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).  The industry is progressively introducing SAF with up to 80% reduction in lifecycle CO² emissions.