TAG Aviation has received a UK Civil Aviation Authority licence, allowing the business aviation services provider to formally take control of Farnborough Airport from the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The handover comes more than five years after the Luxembourg-based company acquired from the MoD a 99-year lease for the site in the south-east of England.
To meet CAA requirements, TAG has invested heavily in modernising and developing the airport. Completed projects include building a new air traffic control tower, installing a new instrument landing system and erecting 36,600m2 (120,000ft2) of hangar space.
The runway has been reprofiled and resurfaced and the threshold displaced to ensure the aircraft fly over the nearby town at a higher altitude. A 40,000m2 terminal is set for completion in the third quarter of next year, says TAG.
Last year TAG handled 15,000 movements at Farnborough and says that it expects "an increase of around 10% a year".
Source: Flight International
