Blackpool Airport News

Blackpool Airport continues to be a valued facility and the first new development at the site for fifteen years is set to be started. For the very latest Blackpool Airport news, visit Blackpool.com and also benefit from some great deals on the best Blackpool hotels.

Expansion planned for Blackpool Airport

Blackpool Airport may not host passenger flights but it continues to be a major general aviation base, this fact underlined by plans to erect five new hangars to cater for various aspects of the aviation industry.

Plans have been announced which would see five new aviation hangars constructed at Blackpool Airport, three of these set to be of 20,000 sq ft (1,858 sq m). These will be used for small aircraft while two more will be built for larger aircraft such as Airbus A320 and Boeing 737.

The facility is currently closed for commercial flights but there are plans to reintroduce links to major airports in the UK and Republic of Ireland. The plans include developing a helicopter base at the airport as part of the major revamp. Blackpool Council said that these proposals would be a ‘major step forward’ and would help boost aviation in the area as maintenance and training.

Future plans also include an executive aircraft handling facility hangar, a corporate jet hangar and a larger apron, while plans for later this year include improvements to the Air Traffic Control tower as well as rescue and firefighting equipment.

Clearly the focus on general and executive aviation would fit in well with the increased exclusion of these types of aircraft from the major airports such as Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds/Bradford while realistically Blackpool cannot hope to compete on level terms with these major airports in terms of passenger flights.

In 2022, Blackpool Airport was the second busiest general aviation facility in the UK with a total of 37,000 flights.