Exeter Airport | |||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Rigby Group | ||||||||||
| Operator | Regional & City Airports | ||||||||||
| Serves | Devon,Cornwall,Somerset,Dorset | ||||||||||
| Location | Clyst Honiton,Devon | ||||||||||
| Focus city for | TUI Airways | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 102 ft / 31 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°44′04″N003°24′50″W / 50.73444°N 3.41389°W /50.73444; -3.41389 | ||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||
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  EGTE Location in Devon Show map of Devon EGTE EGTE (England) Show map of England | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||
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Exeter Airport (IATA:EXT,ICAO:EGTE), formerlyExeter International Airport, is aninternational airport located atClyst Honiton inEast Devon, close to the city ofExeter and within the county ofDevon,South West England. Exeter has aCAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P759) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction. The airport offers both scheduled and holiday charter flights withinEurope.
In 2007, the airport handled over 1 million passengers per year for the first time, although passenger throughput subsequently declined, recovering to 931,000 passengers in 2018.[1] In 2019, passenger numbers once again passed the 1 million mark, due in part to Ryanair operating several new flights to/from the airport.[2] Prior to its collapse in 2020, the airlineFlybe accounted for over 80% of the airport's passenger numbers. Passenger numbers declined sharply to 148,000 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[3] Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Exeter Airport's passenger numbers have recovered to approximately 500,000 per year (as of 2024).
Exeter Airport is located 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the city of Exeter and is approximately 170 miles (270 km) west south west of London. To the south, it is connected by the A30 dual carriageway which can be accessed from the east and the M5 in the west, just 1.5 miles (2.4 km) away. The M5 enables links to Bristol and the Midlands. There is no railway station at the airport. The closest,Cranbrook, is 2.2 miles (3.5 km) miles away by road. There is also a bus link toExeter St Davids railway station.
Exeter Airport was situated on land acquired by Exeter Corporation by compulsory purchase. It was leased and operated byStraight Corporation who also set up the Exeter Aero Club. The airfield officially opened on 31 May 1937 and operated from a "tented" terminal before the permanent buildings were complete.[4]Jersey Airways immediately inaugurated a summer service of eight flights per week from Jersey inde Havilland DH.84 Dragons.Railway Air Services ran connecting flights on to Plymouth and Bristol.
In the Second World War,RAF Exeter was an importantRAF Fighter Command airfield during theBattle of Britain. RAF Exeter was used by theUnited States Army Air Forces (USAAF)Ninth Air Force as aD-Day troop transport base withDouglas C-47 Skytrain transports dropping paratroops nearCarentan to land on theNormandy Beachhead. It was known as USAAF Station AAF-463.
Two brass plaques on the wall near the airport's observation lounge commemorate the activities of 3 squadrons of thePolish Air Forces in France and Great Britain that were based at Exeter during World War II, and commend their actions in defence of the city of Exeter.
RAF Exeter was home to the following Squadrons of No 10 Group during the Battle of Britain:
Despite efforts at camouflage, including painting the runways, Exeter attracted theLuftwaffe and administrative and technical buildings were destroyed.[4]
The same month that 213 Squadron arrived, the RAF established the Gunnery Research Unit at Exeter from "A" Flight of the Armament Testing Squadron.[4]
Exeter met the requirement of basing USAAF troop carrier groups close to where units of the101st Airborne Division were located and within reasonable range of the expected area of operations.
The440th Troop Carrier Group arrived on 15 April 1944 which consisted of the: 95th Troop Carrier Squadron (TCS), 96th TCS, 97th TCS & 98th TCS, with over 70Douglas C-47 Skytrain/Douglas C-53 Skytrooper aircraft. There were insufficient hardstandings to accommodate all the aircraft so many had to be parked on the turf, some areas being supported by tarmac. The 440th was a group of Ninth Air Force's 50th Troop Carrier Wing,IX Troop Carrier Command. The 98th TCS remained at Exeter until 7 August, when it began operating fromRAF Ramsbury. On 11 September, the headquarters of the 440th TCG was established at the group's new base atReims, France (ALG A-62D), and the last of the air echelon left Exeter two days later.
Walruses of an RAF air-sea rescue flight were the next tenants, and these were joined by aglider training unit early in 1945.Post-war, Exeter was reclaimed by Fighter Command and a FrenchSupermarine Spitfire squadron,No. 329 (GC I/2 'Cicognes'), which came and stayed until November 1945.Gloster Meteors andde Havilland Mosquitos made a brief appearance the following spring.No. 691 Squadron's target-towingVultee A-31 Vengeances, which had been present for more than a year, proved to be the last RAF flying unit of theSecond World War period based at Exeter. When No. 691 Squadron departed in the summer of 1946, the station was made available for civil use, being officially transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1 January 1947, although there was still some reserve RAF activity until the 1950s.
There is also a report that No. 3/4 Civilian Anti-Aircraft Co-operation Unit RAF, located at the airport, only disbanded in 1971.[5]
Scheduled services to theChannel Islands began in 1952, and charter flights to various locations followed. A new terminal building was opened in the early 1980s, and various other improvements, including a runway extension, were carried out over the following years to establish Exeter as an important airport in theWest Country. Exeter was a joint RAF/civil airfield in the 1960s.
On 5 January 2007, a majority share of the airport was sold byDevon County Council to Regional and City Airports Ltd, a consortium led by construction firmBalfour Beatty. On 26 June 2013, the airport was bought by the Patriot Aerospace division ofRigby Group, which also ownsCoventry Airport.[6]
In August 2016, Exeter Airport recorded their highest passenger throughput in a single month since September 2008, with 100,374 passengers passing through its terminal. New services to Glasgow and the first route to be supported by the new Government Regional Air Connectivity fund to Norwich, contributed to a 19% increase in passenger numbers during the month of August.[7] During 2018, the runway was resurfaced and energy-efficient LED lighting (including runway centreline lights) was installed.[8]
In 2019, the airport was ranked fourth in the UK byWhich? magazine of 30 airports for customer satisfaction, with a score of 73%.[9]
The following squadrons were also here at some point:[10]
The following units were also here at some point:[10]
The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from Exeter:
The ten busiest routes by air passenger numbers are listed below.
| Rank | Airport | Total passengers | Change 2023 / 24 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Palma de Mallorca | 52,943 |  46.3% |
| 2 | Alicante | 39,504 | 36.7% |
| 3 | Belfast–City | 39,828 |  2.4% |
| 4 | Málaga | 27,778 | 3.0% |
| 5 | Dublin | 27,762 | 10.0% |
| 6 | Jersey | 27,477 | 2.6% |
| 7 | Edinburgh | 27,405 | 14.2% |
| 8 | Tenerife–South | 21,122 | 0.0% |
| 9 | Lanzarote | 20,627 | 21.6% |
| 10 | Faro | 20,417 | 39.3% |
This article incorporatespublic domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency
Media related toExeter International Airport at Wikimedia Commons
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