Exeter International Airport

Exeter International Airport
IATA: EXT – ICAO: EGTE
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Exeter and Devon Airport Limited
Serves	Exeter, Devon
Location	East Devon
Elevation AMSL	102 ft / 31 m
Coordinates	50°44′04″N 003°24′50″W / 50.73444°N 3.41389°W / 50.73444; -3.41389Coordinates: 50°44′04″N 003°24′50″W / 50.73444°N 3.41389°W / 50.73444; -3.41389
Website	exeter-airport.co.uk
Map
EGTE Location in Devon
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 08/26 2,076 6,811 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 767,404 Passenger change 13-14 3.4% Aircraft Movements 32,852 Movements change 13-14 4.4%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Exeter International Airport (IATA: EXT, ICAO: EGTE) is an airport located at Clyst Honiton in the District of East Devon close to the city of Exeter and within the county of Devon, South West England.

In 2007 the airport handled over 1 million passengers for the first time, although passenger throughput subsequently declined. In 2014 it handled 767,404 passengers, a 3.4% increase compared with 2013.^[2] Exeter has a CAA 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 within the United Kingdom and Europe.

Location

Exeter International Airport is located 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the city of Exeter and is approximately 170 miles (270 km) 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 good links with Bristol and the Midlands.

There is no railway station at the airport, and the closest station is Pinhoe railway station. Exeter St Davids railway station has a bus link and is therefore easier for passengers using the airport.

History

Exeter Airport was opened on 31st May 1937 and operated from a "tented" terminal before the permanent buildings were complete. Jersey Airlines immediately inaugurated a summer service of eight flights per week from Jersey in de Havilland DH84 Dragons. Railway Air Services ran connecting flights on to Plymouth and Bristol.

Wartime use

• Media related to RAF Exeter at Wikimedia Commons

Aerial photograph of RAF Exeter, 20 March 1944.

In World War II RAF Exeter was an important RAF Fighter Command airfield during the Battle of Britain.

RAF Exeter was used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) Ninth Air Force as a D-Day troop transport base with Douglas C-47 Skytrain transports dropping paratroops near Carentan to land on the Normandy Beachhead. It was known as USAAF Station AAF-463.

Battle of Britain

RAF Exeter was home to the following Squadrons of No 10 Group during the Battle of Britain:

• No 213 Squadron from 18 June 1940
• No 87 Squadron from 5 July 1940
• No 601 Squadron from 7 September 1940

Despite efforts at camouflage, including painting the runways, Exeter attracted the Luftwaffe and administrative and technical buildings were destroyed.

USAAF use

Exeter met the requirement of basing USAAF troop carrier groups close to where units of the 101st Airborne Division were located and within reasonable range of the expected area of operations.

440th troop carrier group

5 June 1944 photograph of C-47s of the 95th and 98th Troop Carrier Squadrons at RAF Exeter with freshly applied black/white invasion stripes to aid in aircraft identification from the ground. There was insufficient space to park all the aircraft on the concrete, so many were parked on grass turf.

The 440th Troop Carrier Group arrived on 15 April 1944 with over 70 C-47/C-53 Skytrain aircraft. There was 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 from RAF Ramsbury.

On 11 September the headquarters of the 440th TCG was established at the group's new base at Reims, France (ALG A-62D), and the last of the air echelon left Exeter two days later.

Postwar use

Walruses of an RAF air-sea rescue flight were the next tenants and these were joined by a glider training unit early in 1945.

Post-war, Exeter was reclaimed by Fighter Command and a French Supermarine Spitfire squadron, No. 329, which came and stayed until November 1945. Meteors and Mosquitos made a brief appearance the following spring.

No. 691 Squadron's target-towing Vultee A-31 Vengeances, which had been present for more than a year, proved to be the last RAF flying unit of the Second 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.

Scheduled services to the Channel 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 following years to establish Exeter as an important airport in the West Country.

Exeter was a joint RAF/Civil airfield in the 1960s.

The former Swiss Air Force Hawker Hunter F.58A J-4104, now "Miss Demeanour", moved to Exeter airport in 2004.

On 5 January 2007 a majority share of the airport was sold by Devon County Council to Regional and City Airports Ltd, a consortium led by construction firm Balfour Beatty. On 26 June 2013 the airport was bought by the Patriot Aerospace division of Rigby Group, which also owns Coventry Airport.^[3]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Other users

• Capital Aviation^[5] is based at Exeter and offers a number of commercial services. The company have a fleet of turboprop aircraft, including the Beech 200 Super King Air. These aircraft are mainly used on a private hire/charter basis. Capital also provides emergency medical transport and cargo/mail services.

• There are two flight training organisations based at the airport: Aviation South West and Airways Flight Training. These two FTO offer a range of training from the Privates Pilot Licence to the Commercial Pilots Licence and Instrument Rating.

Statistics

Jack Walker House, Flybe head office

Flybe Bombardier Q400 in Exeter

Busiest routes to and from Exeter Airport (2013)^[2]

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% Change 2012 / 13
1	Manchester	84,618	32
2	Palma de Mallorca	47,356	13
3	Edinburgh	36,497	10
4	Malaga	35,430	20
5	Amsterdam	35,356	5
6	Alicante	35,271	21
7	Paris Charles de Gaulle	35,036	0
8	Jersey	33,070	7
9	Dublin	30,513	1
10	Newcastle	29,945	0

See also

• List of Royal Air Force stations
• List of former Royal Air Force stations
• South West Aviation

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Air Force Historical Research Agency.

• Freeman, Roger A. (1978) Airfields of the Eighth: Then and Now. After the Battle ISBN 0-900913-09-6
• Maurer, Maurer (1983). Air Force Combat Units Of World War II. Maxwell AFB, Alabama: Office of Air Force History. ISBN 0-89201-092-4.

External links

Media related to Exeter International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Exeter International Airport – Official website

Airports in the United Kingdom, the British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories England Birmingham Bournemouth Bristol Cambridge Doncaster–Sheffield Durham Tees Valley East Midlands Exeter Humberside Leeds–Bradford Liverpool London City London Gatwick London Heathrow London Luton London Southend London Stansted Manchester Newcastle Newquay Norwich Southampton Smaller Blackpool Brighton–Shoreham Carlisle Cotswold Coventry Gloucestershire Land's End Leicester London Biggin Hill London Oxford Lydd Nottingham St Mary's Wolverhampton Scotland Aberdeen Edinburgh Glasgow International Glasgow Prestwick Inverness Smaller Barra Benbecula Campbeltown Coll Colonsay Dundee Eday Fair Isle Islay Kirkwall Lerwick North Ronaldsay Oban Papa Westray Sanday Scatsta Stornoway Stronsay Sumburgh Tiree Westray Wick Wales Cardiff Smaller Aberporth Anglesey Caernarfon Cardiff Heliport Haverfordwest Hawarden Llanbedr Pembrey Swansea Welshpool Northern Ireland Belfast City Belfast International Derry Smaller Enniskillen/St Angelo Newtownards Crown Dependencies Guernsey Isle of Man Jersey Smaller Alderney Overseas Territories Anguilla RAF Ascension Bermuda Ambergris Cays Anegada Beef Island Virgin Gorda Little Cayman Cayman Brac Grand Cayman Mount Pleasant Port Stanley Gibraltar Montserrat Saint Helena (under construction) Grand Turk Middle Caicos North Caicos Pine Cay Providenciales Salt Cay South Caicos Smaller airports handle domestic, charter or private services only

USAAF Ninth Air Force in World War II Stations Palestine (Mand) Lydda Muqueibile Ramat David St Jean Egypt Abu Sueir Ismailia El Amiriya Daba Deversoir Fayid Kabrit * Landing Ground 174 Payne Sidi Haneish Libya Baheira Belandah Benina Castel Benito Berca Darragh El Adem El Assa Gambut Hamraiet Lete Martuba Tmed El Chel Tobruk Tripoli Sidi Azeiz Tunisia Ben Gardane Bou Grara Chekira Hani Hazbub Hergla El Djem El Haouaria Kairouan Medenine Menzel Heurr Sfax Soltane United Kingdom Aldermaston Andover Andrews Field Ashford Balderton Barkston Heath Beaulieu Birch Bisterne Boreham Bottesford Boxted Charmy Down Chalgrove Chilbolton Chipping Ongar Christchurch Cottesmore Earls Colne Exeter Folkingham Fulbeck Gosfield Great Dunmow Greenham Common Grove High Halden Headcorn Holmsley South Hurn Ibsley Kingsnorth Langar Lashenden Little Walden Lymington Matching Membury Merryfield Middle Wallop North Witham Ramsbury Raydon Rivenhall Saltby Scorton Staplehurst Spanhoe Stansted Stoney Cross Thruxton Upottery Warmwell Welford Weston Zoyland Wethersfield Winkton Woodchurch Wormingford Europe Advanced Landing Grounds (ALGs) in France, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany too numerous. Units Commands 9th Air Division (was IX Bomber Command) IX Air Defense IX Fighter IX Tactical Air IX Troop Carrier XIX Tactical Air XXIX Tactical Air Wings Bombardment 97th Bombardment 98th Bombardment 99th Bombardment Fighter 8th Fighter 9th Fighter 70th Fighter 71st Fighter 84th Fighter 100th Fighter 303d Fighter Troop carrier 50th Troop Carrier 52d Troop Carrier 53d Troop Carrier Groups Bombardment 12th Bombardment 98th Bombardment 322d Bombardment 323d Bombardment 340th Bombardment 344th Bombardment 376th Bombardment 386th Bombardment 387th Bombardment 391st Bombardment 394th Bombardment 397th Bombardment 409th Bombardment 410th Bombardment 416th Bombardment Fighter 36th Fighter 48th Fighter 50th Fighter 57th Fighter 79th Fighter 324th Fighter 354th Fighter 358th Fighter 365th Fighter 362d Fighter 363d Fighter 366th Fighter 367th Fighter 368th Fighter 370th Fighter 371st Fighter 373d Fighter 404th Fighter 405th Fighter 406th Fighter 474th Fighter Troop carrier 61st Troop Carrier 64th Troop Carrier 313th Troop Carrier 314th Troop Carrier 315th Troop Carrier 316th Troop Carrier 349th Troop Carrier 434th Troop Carrier 435th Troop Carrier 436th Troop Carrier 437th Troop Carrier 438th Troop Carrier 439th Troop Carrier 440th Troop Carrier 441st Troop Carrier 442d Troop Carrier IX Troop Carrier Pathfinder (Provisional) Reconnaissance 10th Reconnaissance 67th Reconnaissance 69th Reconnaissance Squadrons Liaison 14th Liaison 47th Liaison Night fighter 422d Night Fighter 425th Night Fighter United States Army Air Forces First Second Third Fourth Fifth Sixth Seventh Eighth Ninth Tenth Eleventh Twelfth Thirteenth Fourteenth Fifteenth Twentieth