All About ACE 25 - and a Little About Formula One

Our team is looking forward to seeing you at ACE25 in Biggin Hill Airport (EGKB) outside of London. When we say "outside," we really mean "super close" to London in our lingo. A major attraction of London Biggin Hill Airport to business aviation has been the very fast transit into London. Our very own Ian Sheppard got to take a tour on the 'Biggin to Battersea' helicopter shuttle.

Ian noted that taking the shuttle was very easy from the Castle Aviation hangar and enjoyed the flight on a Leonardo AW109 'Trekker'. "We did a right turn at Battersea and followed the Thames east through London with landmarks all visible, including the Houses of Parliament (Westminster), the Olympic Stadium, Tower Bridge and The Millennium Dome (now 'The O2') before we went south to Biggin Hill again – all-in-all a 17-minute flight!"

Declan Lehane, Castle Aviation’s operations manager, told us that the shuttle had proven to be a major success for the company and described the airport as "the perfect place [around London] to base a fleet of helicopters." Their client base arrives in increasingly larger jets and expects a larger helicopter with more seats to accommodate all guests. Frequent flyers love the Battersea shuttle, but often also venture out to other destinations like France. How does this all tie into our Singapore Grand Prix Formula One article, you ask?

London Biggin Hill Airport's marketing director, Andy Patsalides, who hosted the tour of the airport and some of its tenants for Ian, said Formula One (which runs F1 motorsport) still has around 400 employees at its facility there, which illustrates the high-profile clients that continue to see Biggin Hill as a good place to be based, said Patsalides. Who knew!

London Biggin Hill Airport is clearly not the only option for business jet operators in the London area, but continues on a steady growth trajectory with some smart moves, like updating runways and navigation aids, adding a hotel and nurturing a positive and supportive relationship with its local community through strict noise measures despite increased operating hours. The airport also offers plenty of job opportunities to the community in the many businesses that are thriving at the airport.

Come on out and meet us there on September 9!