London Biggin Hill Airport

London Biggin Hill Airport
Characteristics
ICAO code	EGKB
IATA code	BQH
Coordinates	51 ° 19 '51 "  N , 0 ° 1' 57"  E Coordinates: 51 ° 19 '51 "  N , 0 ° 1' 57"  E
Height above MSL	182 m (597  ft )
Transport links
Distance from the city center	18 km southeast of London
Street	9 km to the
Local transport	Train traffic, bus traffic
Basic data
opening	1917
operator	Regional Airports Ltd.
Terminals	1
Runways
03/21	1802 m of asphalt concrete
11/29	792 m of asphalt

The London Biggin Hill Airport is a small regional airport about 18 kilometers southeast of London's city center. It is not served by any major airline, but mainly serves as a base for private and small aircraft. The airfield played an important role during the two world wars , both as the base of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and later the Royal Air Force (RAF).

history

Biggin Hill airfield was built in 1917 by the military at the time as an air base for the Royal Flying Corps . Attacking aircraft could be intercepted quickly from there. Between the two world wars, research projects were mainly carried out and technologies modernized, such as making night flights possible, and air defense stations were built.

During the Second World War , the airfield was the base of many military aircraft, which is why it was often attacked in 1940 and 1941. A total of 39 people were killed.

After London-Croydon Airport closed in 1959, Biggin Hill Airport was instead used as a civilian airport and the majority of flights moved here. Some airlines now flew to Biggin Hill, which required the construction of another hangar. In 1992 the Royal Air Force was finally removed from the airport and later the administration to Regional Airports Ltd. to hand over.

Biggin Hill Airport has recently become an important location for business aviation in the London area with around 90,000 flights per year (2006). It is mainly used as a base for smaller charter airlines as well as for private flying clubs. The Biggin Hill Aviation School also trains flight students. The airfield has two runways , some of which can be used for instrument landing approaches . The asphalt runway 11/29 is only 792 meters long, the second runway 03/21 a good 1,800 meters. This means that both short- and medium-haul aircraft can land and take off at the airfield. London Biggin Hill is also widely used for business jets. The airport has a terminal with a café and other infrastructural facilities. The older RAF buildings are still on the edge of the site.

Incidents

• In October 2005, a small plane crashed in Victoria Gardens, less than a kilometer from the airfield, barely missing several houses. The pilot and a student pilot died.

• On March 30, 2008, a Cessna Citation I model 501 business jet , which had previously taken off from Biggin Hill and was on its way back to the airfield due to engine problems, crashed into a residential building in Romsey Close, BR6 7 Orpington, on the southern edge of London. Five people (two pilots and three passengers) lost their lives. The passengers were David Leslie and Richard Lloyd , both well-known former British Touring Car Championship drivers, and a 25-year-old student. It was a business trip to Pau in France. No people were injured on the ground.

reception

Biggin Hill played a role in both the film The Da Vinci Code with Tom Hanks and in the original book when the main characters fly from Le Bourget Airport in Paris to London on a private jet and land in Biggin Hill.

See also

• London Airport

Individual evidence

1. ↑ History of the airfield ( Memento of the original from April 9, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 

Web links

• Web presence of the airfield