Farnborough Airport is launching a public consultation process on its long-term growth potential and the economic benefits this would bring.
As one of the largest employment sites in Hampshire, Farnborough Airport contributes £200m to the local economy each year, supporting many thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the process. It has been the home of British aviation for nearly 120 years and is home to a growing aerospace cluster, with world-class aviation and ancillary businesses attracted to the region, bringing high-skilled and well-paid jobs to Hampshire, Surrey and beyond.
Through a combination of market growth and limited airport capacity elsewhere, market demand for flights from Farnborough Airport is forecast to reach 70,000 per year by 2040. To meet this increasing demand and to safeguard the airport’s long-term future, Farnborough Airport will be holding a consultation process to seek feedback on proposals to amend its annual flight limit from 50,000 to 70,000 per year.
The proposals, alongside other operational changes, will enable Farnborough Airport to continue to be the catalyst for long-term economic prosperity in the region, supporting directly and indirectly 4,100 local jobs and generating £470m of Gross Value Added by 2040, the airport’s operator said.
Farnborough Airport will also be consulting on a number of proposals to enhance and improve its community funds programme. The airport is proposing to increase the levels of funding for environmental and community projects in the local area, including the launch of a new Sustainability Fund.
Simon Geere, chief executive of Farnborough Airport, said: “By satisfying the growing demand for connectivity from Farnborough Airport, our proposals will create hundreds of new jobs within the local community and give a boost to the unique aerospace cluster that we are part of. This will be vitally important for the future economic prosperity of the region.
“At the same time, Farnborough Airport is leading the way on airport sustainability. We recently achieved Level 4+ Carbon Neutrality, and last year we set ourselves one of the most ambitious targets in the industry, by committing to be Net Zero across our controllable emissions by 2030 or sooner.
“We are looking forward to sharing our proposals for the future of the airport with the local community and receiving [their] feedback.”
Image: Farnborough Airport
