On a brisk winter day, Brandon O’Reilly, CEO Farnborough Airport and his team held their annual press brunch in the sun-filled lounge on the first floor at Farnborough Airport Terminal building.

On that particular day, 21 January 2020, O’Reilly was proud to introduce the Airport’s new brand identity following the acquisition, last September, by Australian Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.

The new brand both embodies the airport’s philosophy to consistently offer a five-star service and reflects the award-winning architecture of the airport’s facilities with its iconic shapes and curves.

For the full year 2019, Farnborough Airport saw a year-on-year increase in air traffic movements of 5.3 per cent. For December 2019, the airport recorded an 11.6 per cent increase in movements for the month with initial forecasts indicating this positive trend is set to continue in 2020.

Specifically, air traffic movements to and from the U.S. experienced significant growth during the year, with an increase of 15per cent year-on-year. In the same period, traffic to and from Europe saw a 6 per cent increase.

Farnborough Airport, which is open from 7:00 in the morning until 10:00 at night weekdays, 8:00 am until 8:00 pm during weekends and public holidays, is closed on Christmas day and on 26 December. It plays an important role as the UK’s leading business airport, entirely dedicated to business aviation, as are Le Bourget and Cannes-Mandelieu, in France.

O’Reilly stressed how the airport has consistently worked on mitigating the impact of aviation on the environment. It has provided a good contribution to educating business aviation users about alternative green fuel. Last May, the airport hosted a coalition of business aviation organizations from around the globe for the sustainable aviation fuel initiative event, “Fuelling the Future”, and was named a winner at the IEMA (The Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment) Sustainability Awards 2019, further underlining the airport’s ongoing commitment to responsible and sustainable development.

Farnborough Airport currently handles more than 30,000 flights per annum and is equipped to cater for a wide range of aircraft types, including Boeing Business Jets and Airbus Corporate Jets. As the only dedicated business aviation airport in the UK, it is specifically designed to offer a one-stop shop for business aviation customers, and with 240,000 sq ft of heated hangar facilities and 1.2m sq ft of ramp space can accommodate both based and transient aircraft.

To better service its customers on this side of the Atlantic, Gulfstream Aerospace is building an impressive facility, which will be inaugurated later this year. “As importantly as it is to Gulfstream customers, some 354 high-quality jobs will be filled by local people,” said O’Reilly.

This summer, Farnborough Airport, the birthplace of British Aviation, will host the biennial International Airshow 20-24 July 2020.