Oxford Airport Raises Bizav ‘Green Hub’ Profile, as it Ponders eVTOL London Links

We attended London Oxford Airport’s (EGTK) Media Day on May 2nd, 2024. Those clever fellows at Oxford also own London’s only full-time licensed heliport, at Battersea. This, combined with eVTOL craft such as the Lilium Jet, could soon make the link between the two quieter and more affordable than helicopters, and possibly faster and more regular. “The regulators will never have it,” you may say. OK, agreed. But if they did, Oxford would – in effect – move closer to London.

London Oxford is developing fast and even has its own science park now, and the start-ups and Oxford University spin-offs are already queuing up. It also has Volare, which has ordered “up to 20” Lilium Jets.

The airport, best known for being the home of UK commercial pilot training, has been for several years pushing to expand its operator base along with the number of aviation companies it plays host to.  It currently has no scheduled services and has an annual movement limit of 160,000 (excluding emergency flights) of which no more than 500 jet movements with ICAO Chapter 2 noise levels or worse are allowed, and no more than 2,000 jet movements of aircraft over 50mt Max Take Off Weight (MTOW. According to James Dillon-Godfray, the airport’s head of business development, Oxford saw 58,549 movements (landings and takeoffs) last year.

James Dillon-Godfray

Under the ownership of the Reuben Brothers since 2007, it has been very successful (and well-funded). It holds an annual media day to provide a comprehensive update on its activities and plans.

The 2024 media day took place on Thursday, May 2, described as a “Pre-EBACE and Spring Update,” coming as it did about four weeks before EBACE, Europe’s largest business aviation event that takes place at Palexpo, at Geneva Airport (LSGG).

As he has done many times before, Dillon-Godfray (pictured) gave a wide-ranging update before giving way to a series of speakers from the airport’s burgeoning business community.

He started off by announcing that the airport was due to start selling Sustainable Aviation Fuel “next week” with two options being offered, 30% ratio and 10% ratio (SAF to ordinary kerosene blend), “to suit different operators with different requirements.” He noted, however, that the higher ratio fuel is “still double the cost of straight JET A1 [kerosene].” A new fuel farm has been constructed which can have up to five tanks and 425,000 litres of fuel in storage.

Meanwhile, a synthetic fuel development site is due to be operational in the summer of 2024 after OXCCU raised $22.7 million in initial funding and a £2.8 million UK government grant.

Another new company at Oxford in the ‘cleaner aviation’ mold is Qdot Technologies, which is developing hybrid powerplants for eVTOLs/UAVs. Qdot is an Oxford University spinoff that has expertise in hydrogen fuel cells and battery technologies.

Back to more traditional Oxford Airport activities, Dillon-Godfray said that the airline TUI would be opening a training operation “this month” to train new pilots for the Multicrew Pilot Licence (MPL) using Diamond single and twin-engine aircraft.

Related to this is Triple J Aircraft Engineering, which can maintain the engines of the Diamond Aircraft types being a diesel engine specialist (Continental and Austro Engines maintenance, repair and overhaul) that can also offer retrofits of Continental engines for Cessna, Piper and Robin general aviation aircraft.

One of Oxford’s most high-profile residents, Airbus Helicopters, is nearing the completion of a new 125,000 square-foot MRO facility with seven dedicated landing pads, and “occupation anticipated in September 2024.” Situated on the east side of the runway, on the north side of the existing built-up area, it is designed to be solar power enabled and the site can also be expanded towards the west, said Dillon-Godfray.

The airport is also still pushing to gain GPS approaches on both ends of the runway (01-19) – it has long had an ILS approach on runway 19. The project is very costly and will also involve fitting approach lights for runway 01. However, Dillon-Godfray admitted the application process could easily take three years, which he described as “very costly.”

Opening hours are something London Oxford Airport believes gives it an edge over other ‘London’ airports, as no other London area airport can claim to be able to remain open to midnight. “Really for the London area we are the only show in town in the window before midnight,” said Dillon-Godfray, while he described the situation as “crazy” in reality. “No other city in Europe is like that – London is closed!” He suggested that visitors to events such as the Champions’ League final at Wembley later in May could “escape before midnight.”

Oxford also has another large hangar in the planning stage, which will be available in the second half of 2025 “realistically”, and the airport has completed a new parallel taxiway along the northern half of the runway linking with the apron, with a likely extension to the southern end being considered. This has already added to operational efficiency.

Meanwhile, a £50 million Research & Development Science Park has been added and is due to open on June 1, 2024, with the first building – 200,000 square ft lab-enabled facilities – due to be completed in early 2025.

Dillon-Godfray said that several other aviation and aerospace companies have a presence at the airport including Textron, which also now owns light aircraft manufacturer Pipistrel; Volare, a business aircraft operator that is the launch customer for the Lilium Jet electric aircraft, and he revealed that “another major player in the eVTOL sector is coming here – but I can’t say who they are yet.”

He noted that at nearby Bicester Airfield, Skyports was establishing a test site by the end of 2024 and pointed out that while Bicester has “tons of power”, this was “not generally available” but was necessary for charging lots of electric aircraft. However, the area around the airport seems to have become the site for Europe’s largest solar farm, “all around the airport” and although he Dillon-Godfray admitted that “the locals hate the idea,” it has already got through the second stage of a planning consultation. Likely to provide the area, including the airport, a large source of clean electricity, he estimated it would be a central government decision (due to its size) in 2025, and be “up and running” in 2026.

He has previously been vocal on the value of smaller airfields, suggesting that the first to make a success of regional air mobility will be those who can call on a network of pre-existing licensed and unlicensed GA aerodromes. “[They are] valuable assets and we need to protect our airfields, adapt and evolve them for the upcoming advanced and urban air mobility models.”   

The London Heliport

Matthew Rice, heliport manager of the heliport in Battersea that is London Oxford Airport’s sister company, said that in April the former Westland Heliport celebrated its 65th anniversary. “It has seen many iterations,” he noted, including the addition of a building alongside it. However, this 20-storey ‘Heliport Heights’ plan, which received approval from the local Wandsworth Council in 2014, did not seem to be a positive prospect for Rice, who suggested it was “crazy. [But] our objections were ignored.”

Like Oxford Airport, the heliport – officially known as the Edmiston London Heliport after its current sponsor - is subject to a Section 106 agreement which limits movements to 12,000 a year – as of May 2nd it had reached around 3,000, said Rice (the 12,000 movements-per-annum limit excludes medevac, air ambulance, government and military flights).  

The busiest event of the year is the British Grand Prix at Silverstone as helicopter traffic is extremely busy between Battersea and Silverstone, which sets up a separate helipad from its usual one, especially for the event. Silverstone is only 18 nautical miles northeast of Oxford Airport (which is situated next to the town of Kidlington, five miles north of Oxford city center). The heliport’s movements totaled 8,596 last year.

Reflecting on prospects for eVTOLs to utilize the heliport Rice accepted it was “something like that could go in our favor… we could ask the Council if we could have a higher movement limit to have them – as they’re quieter [than helicopters],” he suggested. However, Dillon-Godfray said they couldn’t afford to an eVTOL going wrong and blocking up a pad or anything like that.

“Being the only heliport in London we are going to be a prime target – either us or Skyports down the road in London. But if one goes into thermal runaway that’s us closed for three days!”

Back to earth, he said the old netting around the helipad jetty is being replaced along with the attached lighting, which will be white. Installation was due to start later in May. The underground fuelling tanks are also going to be replaced with tanks on the surface, as it’s not viable to build new underground ones next to the Thames River.

Oxford Attraction

That its sustainable credentials are likely to attract companies to have a presence at London Oxford is borne out by Alex Durand, CEO of Norwich-based SaxonAir, who asked “Why are we at Oxford?” Apart from him learning to fly at Oxford, Durand said SaxonAir has watched developments and understands what the airport represents, and “what it does.”

The presence of Airbus Helicopters’ UK base is an attraction, and SaxonAir has an Airbus Corporate Helicopters (ACH) type available for charter at the airport. According to Durand, the company had a presence at other London-area GA airfields, such as Redhill, Elstree and Denham, but Oxford was seen as filling a “big gap to the west.”

Underlining SaxonAir’s interest in promoting sustainable aviation, Durand said the company had opened a new training operation using electric aircraft at Norwich. See also: https://aviationweek.com/business-aviation/saxon-air-opens-low-emission-flight-training-center

“The main reason we came [here] is that Oxford Airport has decided to take a lead – and there is an astonishing amount going on here.” Back in Norwich, SaxonAir runs the airport’s FBO and handles helicopters serving the North Sea oil and gas sector – around 30,000 movements a year. It has two AOCs, one for jets and a second for helicopter operations, and on the jet side operates mainly light jets. “By the end of the summer we’ll probably be the largest Learjet operator in Europe,” he said.

However, the big push to more sustainable aviation has been a priority to some time now. According to Durand, there is still a long way to go. “There’s lots of things we still need to address if we want to be a sustainable aviation operator. We started the process in 2019 and it has taken five years just to get to the baseline - with the aim of getting to true net zero by 2030. We completed a solar installation this year and often we’re 75% self-sustaining on power. Our electric aircraft will generally be charged off-grid.

One company that has been operating from London Oxford Airport for many years is Capital Air Services. Michael Hampton, a helicopter pilot who has been managing director of CAS since 1995, recalled the days when CSE owned the airport and ran the UK’s busiest flight training operation. CAS has its own AOC and offers helicopter charter and management services. He noted that the Airbus H135 “has proved to be a really good working aircraft for us” – a typical private charter would be taking a shooting party to Dartmoor, or to events such as the Glastonbury music festival.

However, Hampton said they realized a need for “more than five seats” and so last year opted for an H145 D3, with the five-bladed rotor making the ride very comfortable too. This aircraft can be configured with a five or seven-seat rear cabin, he said. “We’ve even been to Goodwood with nine passengers now” – seven in the rear and two in the front with the pilot.

The only drawback he could see came in training as the only simulators for the type at present are in Finland and Germany. That hasn’t stopped the company from adding two more 145s to its charter fleet. Asked about SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), Hampton said he’d only been asked once about it and on that occasion “it was a deal breaker”.

London Night Slot Issues

Lindsey Oliver, managing director of the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA), shed more light on the London night-time issue when many of the airports frequented by business aviation operators have curtailed hours, usually due to noise. Stansted and Luton are prime examples, although Biggin Hill and Farnborough are constrained to some extent - and London Southend is struggling to keep its FBO open long hours for other reasons.

For those unable to obtain Luton or Stansted slots, or who want to use airports more dedicated to business aviation, Farnborough Airport closes at 2200L (2000L on weekends), London Biggin Hill closes at 2300L (2200 at weekends); and London Oxford is open until midnight, 7 days a week, but is further from London (60 miles - a 25 minute helicopter trip, or approx. 1h 30 mins by car). Meanwhile RAF Northolt is open until 2000L Monday to Friday, until 1500L on Saturday and 1900L on Sunday, so is not a ‘late night’ option’.

Oliver said that BBGA has written to the UK’s aviation minister, but the answer was that no further alleviation was possible, while the minister pointed out that in other cases it was a commercial decision by the airport. However, as Oliver pointed out in Oxford, sometimes airports are just keeping slots that should be kept as ad hoc slots for non-scheduled operators to provide for contingency planning for its airline customers, such as Ryanair at Stansted, which has several positions on the airport’s consultative committee allowing it to get its way.

For this reason, she said, “the extra hours at Oxford could prove quite crucial.” BBGA is now preparing a briefing that’s designed for the next UK government, given that an election must be held in the second half of 2024 which is likely to see the Labour Party get into power again.

Oliver said the issue was also affecting emergency aircraft operations when aircraft tried to position home and ended not being able to obtain a slot, and then having to land somewhere else at great inconvenience. In this case, it was a team from Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge taking a patient to Aberdeen and then trying to return to Stansted. “This is absolutely outrageous,” remarked Oliver. Alongside this is the effect of London night-slot difficulties on business and the impact that has on London’s economy, she said (travelers include sports teams and musicians and executives, all working on tight schedules).

Another issue BBGA is tackling is proposed 94% increases in UK Border Force charges where airports are used that don’t have facilitation on-site. “Our industry has to use these services. The changes come into effect in July so we’re challenging them.”

BBGA is also campaigning for the reinstatement of EGNOS, to allow GPS approaches to lower minima in the UK – something that was lost post-Brexit. “A new UK SBAS system is expensive and probably 10 or more years away – so we need to just buy EGOS licence. The conversation is going on and we’re working on a research project.”

Oliver concluded by saying it was “going to be a very busy summer” for business aviation, with Farnborough [Airshow], the Olympics [in Paris], etc.”

Light at the end of the Insurance Tunnel?

Matthew Day, director for general aviation at insurance broker Gallagher (aka Hayward Aviation) gave an update on the state of the business aviation insurance market. He said insurers are still being “selective in what they do,” and evaluating each client’s risks on their own merits. “The good news is capacity are enthusiastic about getting more into the bizav sector – there’s an oversupply so rates will generally be softer.” This contrast to the situation three or four years ago when underwriters were pulling out of aviation, leaving less choice and driving up rates, exacerbated by world events like the Russian situation.  “Over the past 18 months to two years, lots of London-based underwriters have been getting into the [business aviation] market, or re-entering the market, so there is 40% more capacity now. We can trade off and leverage for our clients, which is good news.”

He added that Gallagher has hired Tony Jones – formerly of Virgin Galactic – to “lead our push towards the world of eVTOL/AAM. He’ll be based in LA.” Gallagher has also launched a working group to look at the sector more closely, and to prepare, said Day.

Day said aviation insurers still hadn’t quite “figured out” the risk profile of the emerging UAM sector and couldn’t price it as there were no accident records yet. “There will be an element of ‘best guess’ but until we see the details, we just don’t know. The Titanic was the latest technology – I showed you a picture of that last year!”

Volare Aviation’s head of commercial operations Cliff Lee-Fatt then gave an overview of his company. “We’ve moved into a new purpose-built hangar just opposite Hangar 14,” he said – in fact, the Volare name looms large as you enter the Oxford Airport ‘campus’ so you can’t really miss it. He said the Volare fleet had grown over the past year, for example, the Challenger jet fleet. The company held a charter brokers’ day that was so successful, he said, that “we’re now committed to shipping in 30-40 brokers every quarter. They can ask questions on performance, what we offer, etc.”

The company has also dived into the future of aviation with an order for “up to 20” Lilium Jets, due for delivery in 2025-6 with plans to operate them from London Oxford Airport. Asked if he was worried about reports that Lilium was in financial trouble, citing a lack of German government funding support, Lee-Fatt said he was “sticking to plan – we haven’t slowed or varied from our initial plan.”