About us
About us
OUR HISTORY
On this page, you can find more about the history of the Airport and the role it plays today, what business aviation is, what we are doing to operate as sustainably as possible, and our contribution to Rushmoor.
Farnborough and its Airport have a unique place in aviation history.
The airfield was established in 1904 and it was the location of the first UK powered flight in 1908. Ever since, Farnborough has been recognised as the birthplace of British aviation.
Born out of these pioneering beginnings, Farnborough Airport has been one of the most significant contributors to aviation innovation and aeronautical science for over a century.
Owned by the Ministry of Defence during the two World Wars and the Cold War, the Airport was a centre of military and civil aviation research. In 1948 the inaugural Farnborough International Airshow took place. Today the Airshow continues to be the world’s leading aerospace exhibition and trade event, attracting thousands of business organisations and visitors to Farnborough from across the globe.
In 1989, Farnborough Airport handled its first civil aviation operations. This was followed soon after by plans to develop the Airport with a particular focus on business aviation and related activities.
A planning application was subsequently approved in 1999 and this has shaped the nature of the Airport’s operations that exist today.
- 1904 – Airfield established in Farnborough.
- 1908 – Farnborough was the UK’s first airfield in aviation history and home to the country’s first powered flight, which saw Samuel Franklin Cody take off in his British Army Aeroplane No. 1.
- 1908-1991 – Primarily used as a military aviation research base, Farnborough was owned by the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) during the two World Wars and the Cold War.
- 1948 – The inception of the inaugural Farnborough International Airshow.
- 1989 – Farnborough’s first civil aviation operations begin.
- 1991 – MOD announce that the airfield is surplus to military requirements.
- 1994 – Government declares that the airfield should be redeveloped as a business aviation centre.
- 1997 – Private operator wins the competitive process to operate the airfield.
- 1999 – Planning for the redevelopment of the airfield begins.
- 2003 – Civil Aviation Authority licence is granted.
- 2007 – Airfield freehold is acquired and major renovations commence.
- 2009 – Airport masterplan setting out growth proposals to 2019, and indicatively to 2030.
- 2011 – Grant of approval to increase flights from 28,000 a year to 50,000.
- 2012 – Airspace Change Proposal commences.
- 2018 – Airport becomes the first business aviation airport in the world to achieve carbon neutral status.
- 2019 – Airport is acquired under new long-term ownership.
- 2020 – Airspace Change Proposal is implemented.
- 2022 – Construction of the Airport’s third hangar begins – Domus III.
- 2022 – Launch of the Airport’s Net Zero Roadmap.
- 2022 – Airport enters the UK’s Airspace Modernisation Strategy and initiates an Airspace Change.
- 2023 – Farnborough Airport becomes the first UK business aviation airport to achieve Level 4+, the highest level of carbon accreditation.
The role of Farnborough Airport is shaped by our history.
The Airport’s current operation has been shaped by its past. The permissions to develop Farnborough Airport for business aviation came with restrictions on the size of aircraft and the type of flights which were allowed.
These were intended to minimise the environmental impact of the Airport’s operation by ensuring it focussed on serving the business aviation market and did not develop into a traditional commercial passenger airport.
Although not restricted solely to business aviation, the proximity of Farnborough Airport to London has resulted in the Airport becoming one of the most important gateways for business aviation in the UK.
It has consistently been voted the best airport of its kind in Europe, and its iconic architecture and state-of-the-art facilities make it one of the most impressive airports in the world.
What is business aviation?
High economic consequence, essential in purpose, and time-sensitive in nature. Business aviation serves this market.
The term ‘business aviation’ refers to a subset of the wider business air travel market. Using smaller and lighter aircraft, business aviation serves a market where its users require enhanced levels of connectivity and assurance.
Whilst the majority of the business air travel market is served by scheduled airlines operating between traditional commercial passenger airports, some business travel purposes have very specific requirements.
For example:
- Where direct connections and flight times are not otherwise available on scheduled flights
- Where the flight requires greater certainty on timings and connections
- Where travel flexibility is an essential aspect of the trip
- Where complex travel itineraries need to be accommodated
- Where enhanced levels of security and personal assurance is a priority
These requirements, combined with the relatively high costs of using business aviation, mean that business aviation flights are often of high economic consequence, essential in purpose, and time-sensitive in nature. Business aviation serves this market.
Who are our users?
Business aviation has a diverse customer base, ranging from global companies to small business enterprises, representing commerce and trade from across the economic spectrum.
Operating the Airport requires close, collaborative working relationships between operators, crews, air traffic control and our suppliers.
We are collectively focused on running a responsible, safe and secure airport which looks to deliver transformational change within our operations in line with emerging technologies and industry best practice.
Our runway at Farnborough Airport can be approached from either direction and is referred to as either Runway 24 or Runway 06 depending on the prevailing wind and operational conditions at the time. Currently, flights at Farnborough Airport arrive and depart using Runway 24 approximately 70% of the time, and arrive and depart using Runway 06 approximately 30% of the time.
Airspace change
Government policy is to modernise airspace. As part of their Airspace Modernisation Strategy, Farnborough Airport and other airports across the UK are progressing airspace change proposals, which will mean that current routings may change.
This process is completely separate to the planning process we are currently consulting on.
Prevailing winds
We do not expect that our proposals will require any additional infrastructure to support the growth trajectory under the New Planning Application.
The plan below shows the Airport’s existing infrastructure with future known projects required to deliver an efficient and environmentally optimised Airport as we grow towards our existing permissions of 50,000 flights per annum.
Farnborough Airport has a proud history of leading on sustainability, becoming the first airport of its kind to be Carbon Neutral accredited in 2018.
We want to be a Global Showcase for Airport Sustainability. Our ambitions include becoming a 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) airport before 2030, and we want to be a catalyst for change, not just in our core markets, but within the aviation industry.
Since 2018, Farnborough Airport has been fully carbon neutral for Scope 1 & 2 emissions sources and part of Scope 3 emission sources as per Airport Carbon Accreditation (ACA) guidance. Recently, we were awarded Level 4+, the second highest level of carbon accreditation offered by ACA.
The ACA is the only institutionally endorsed, global carbon management certification programme for airports, independently assessing and recognising the efforts of airports to manage and reduce their carbon emissions. A variety of measures have been implemented to reduce emissions across Scope 1 & 2 emissions, including the use of REGO backed electricity (Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin) and offsets residual emissions with verified carbon offsets.
We have also committed to being Net Zero for Scope 1 & 2 emissions sources by 2030 or sooner, which will reduce these emissions by over 90%. This means there will be significantly less reliance on carbon offsetting, although residual emissions will still need to be offset consistent with Net Zero protocols.
The aviation industry is working hard to develop new fuel and aircraft technology in response to the global climate challenge. In response to Government targets to achieve Net Zero by 2050, the aviation sector has established its own Net Zero Carbon Road Map, developed by Sustainable Aviation (www.sustainableaviation.co.uk).
As a member of Sustainable Aviation, we are working with stakeholders from across the industry to help understand and tackle the challenge of ensuring a cleaner, quieter, and smarter future for the aviation industry.
Here are some of the actions we take to reduce our impact:
Operating to Level 4+ Carbon Accreditation
Making Sustainable Aviation Fuel available to customers since 2021
Monitor air quality monthly at 13 locations across the Airport site and local communities
Measuring noise continuously at either end of the runway and ad hoc deployments
Prohibiting some of the noisiest aircraft (requiring aircraft to be at least ICAO Chapter 4 and above)
Ensuring a zero waste to landfill approach
Making biodiversity considerations in all development
EV chargers installed across the site for employees and tenants
Solar panels delivering around 25% of onsite energy currently
Our relative emissions
Global aviation emissions are 2% of all GHG emissions, with business aviation accounting for 0.04%.
In the UK and as an island nation, the aviation industry accounts for circa 7% of all GHG emissions, with the business aviation sector being a fraction of that.
Farnborough Airport has environmental restrictions on the size of aircraft that are allowed to operate at the Airport, as well as the nature of its flights. For example, the Airport is not allowed to handle scheduled passenger services, inclusive tour flights, or bulk freight operations.
This is the reason why our flights are predominantly business aviation flights.
These flights have significantly fewer passenger seats than commercial airliners, and so whilst their absolute emissions are considerably lower than those generated by commercial passenger flights, their emissions per passenger are comparatively higher.
Conversely, the relatively low number of passengers per flight means that the emissions generated from surface access travel (passenger and staff travel to and from the Airport) is also beneficially lower.
Surface access emissions for many airports are a challenge, often accounting for circa 20% of total emissions. At Farnborough Airport, it is approximately 1%.
These are some of the distinguishing features of Farnborough Airport’s carbon footprint compared to that of a traditional passenger airport.
*Traditional passenger airport – taken from a typical regional airport whose data is publicly available and modelled for same number of flights. All data relates to 2024. Data has been adjusted to enable a like-for-like comparison.
In the Autumn of 2023 we submitted a planning application to Rushmoor Borough Council (RBC) to increase our maximum number of annual aircraft movements.
In this application, Farnborough Airport proposed to:
- Increase the maximum number of annual aircraft movements from 50,000 to 70,000 per annum, including an increase in non-weekday aircraft movements from 8,900 to 18,900 per annum.
- Amend the aircraft weight category of 50,000 to 80,000 kg to 55,000 to 80,000 kg, and an increase from 1,500 to 2,100 aircraft movements within this category, including an increase from 270 to 570 annual aircraft movements for non-weekdays.
- Replace conditions numbers 7 (1:10,000 risk contour) and 8 (1:100,000 risk contour) of the existing planning permission with a new condition to produce public safety zone maps in accordance with the Civil Aviation Authority/Department for Transport requirements.
These changes are necessary for Farnborough Airport to continue to meet its share of future market demand, which will be important if the Airport is to sustain its long-term economic role, both locally and nationally. During consultation, we also sought feedback on proposed enhancements to our community funding programme.
In response to feedback on our public consultation, we made the following changes to the application prior to submission in 2023:
- Proposed changes to the non-weekday operating hours were excluded from the application
- Revised annual and non-weekday flight limits were introduced, to ensure growth is phased over time
- New measures to mitigate and reduce the potential for increased aircraft noise
- Additional funding and focus on local community initiatives and engagement
- A continued and renewed focus on emissions reduction and air quality monitoring
On this page you can find helpful materials about the application and our proposals to safeguard the future of Farnborough Airport.
Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments please contact us using:
Email: contact@farnboroughairport2040.com
Phone: 0808 164 6061