Gloucestershire airport has extended its runway in a bid to attract more business aviation traffic to the southern UK-based site.
"Although only 12m of additional tarmac has been laid, the removal of obstacles nearby and the creation of an overrun means the landing distances available for aircraft have increased by up to 150m," says the airport's head of operations, Darren Lewington.
"The extra runway distances make a huge difference to the operators of the larger aircraft that currently use the airport and will generate additional business for us," he adds.
The airport has around 70,000 movements a year - the bulk of the activity is from general aviation aircraft. "Business aviation movements make up around 5% of the take-off and landings, but they generate 30% of our revenue," Lewington says.
"With the closure of Filton airport, near Bristol, at the end of the year, there is already additional demand from corporate aircraft flying to the southwest of England. We are ideally placed to serve high net worth individuals in this region, as well as the Birmingham and Oxford catchment," he adds.
Lewington admits the airport will "never be as popular as Farnborough, Luton and Biggin Hill" but it is seeking to attract new business through its "significantly cheaper handling charges".
"We are hoping the extra business will also attract new operators and maintenance providers to the airport," he says.
Source: Flight International