Norwich Airport facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Norwich Airport
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| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||
| Owner | Regional & City Airports | ||||||||||
| Operator | Norwich Airport Limited | ||||||||||
| Serves | Norwich, Norfolk | ||||||||||
| Location | Hellesdon | ||||||||||
| Opened | 1968 | ||||||||||
| Focus city for | TUI Airways | ||||||||||
| Built | 1939 (as RAF Horsham St Faith) | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 36 m / 117 ft | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 52°40′33″N 01°16′58″E / 52.67583°N 1.28278°E | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
 NWI/EGSH
Location in Norfolk
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| Runway | |||||||||||
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| Statistics (2022) | |||||||||||
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Norwich Airport (NWI/EGSH) is an international airport located in Hellesdon, Norfolk, England. It is about 2.5 miles (4 km) north of the city of Norwich. This airport is an important travel hub for the East Anglia region.
The airport has a special licence from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). This licence allows it to offer flights for passengers and for flight training. Norwich Airport has a long history of flights to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol with KLM Cityhopper. It also offers flights to many places in the United Kingdom and Europe.
Besides regular flights, charter companies also fly from Norwich. Companies like Bristow Helicopters and Babcock Mission Critical Services Offshore transport crews to North Sea gas and oil rigs. SaxonAir operates private planes and helicopter charter flights. The airport was first set up in the early 1970s on the site of a former military air base called RAF Horsham St Faith.
Contents
History of Norwich Airport
The very first Norwich Airport was on Mousehold Heath. It was a former First World War airfield. This early airport opened in 1933 and was used for testing aircraft and other fun activities. It stopped being used at the start of the Second World War.
From Military Base to Airport
The current airport site was once a military air base. It was known as Royal Air Force Station Horsham St Faith, or RAF Horsham St Faith. It was built in 1939 and officially opened on 1 June 1940. It started as a base for RAF bomber planes.
In September 1942, the base was used by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). They called it Station 123 (HF). After the war, on 10 July 1945, it became an RAF Fighter Command station. RAF Horsham St Faith was an important RAF base for many years. It closed down on 1 August 1963.
The Royal Air Force left Horsham on 24 March 1967. Over the next two years, most of the airfield and buildings were sold. They were bought by Norwich City Council and Norfolk County Council. A small part was kept by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Norwich Airport Limited was then created. It was owned by the city and county councils. They developed the modern Norwich International Airport. The main terminal building opened in 1988. In 1971, the airport started offering charter flights. An airline called Air Anglia set up a base there. They offered flights across north-western Europe. Their flight route to Amsterdam is still used today by KLM Cityhopper.
Many of the buildings from World War II are still there. They have been changed for different uses. Two of the five large old hangars are still used for aircraft maintenance. One hangar is now an aviation academy. The other two are used by Air Livery and KLM UK Engineering. The original military control tower is still standing. A new tower has been built next to the main runway.
Other wartime buildings are now part of the Norwich Airport Industrial Estate. This area has many new buildings too. Near the airport terminal, there is a memorial. It has photos and paintings about the USAAF. It also has a plaque remembering the American use of the airfield.
The City of Norwich Aviation Museum is located near the airport. It is by the control tower. This museum celebrates the airfield's history as a military base and its growth as a civil airport. It has many civil and military aircraft on display. Many of these planes flew from the airfield at some point.
Most of the old runways and taxiways from the military airfield are still there. However, only one runway is mainly used today. This is Runway 09/27. It was made longer by the RAF in 1956 to be 1,841 metres (6,040 ft) long. This helps avoid planes flying over built-up areas. The 04/22 runway is no longer used for takeoffs or landings. It is now used for parking and moving aircraft.
In 1999, the airport changed its name to Norwich International Airport. It kept this name until April 2017.
In March 2004, the city and county councils sold most of their share (80.1%) in Norwich Airport Limited to a company called Omniport. They kept 19.9%. Omniport also bought Norwich Airport Travel Limited, which is a travel agency at the airport. After this sale, the airport became a hub for the budget airline Flybe. This led to more flights and destinations. In 2005, a £3.5 million project began to make the terminal bigger.
In 2007, the airport started an Airport Development Fee (ADF). All passengers over 16 years old flying from the airport pay a £10 fee.
In 2014, the airport was sold again. The new owner was the Rigby Group. They made the airport part of their Regional & City Airports group in April 2017.
Recent Changes and Future Plans
In 2015, Norwich International Airport announced plans for new flight routes. These included flights to Dublin Airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport, Newcastle Airport, and Exeter Airport. In November 2015, the bids for Newcastle and Exeter flights were successful. Flybe started flights to Exeter on 24 March 2016. Flybe also planned summer and winter flights from Norwich Airport as part of a five-year agreement. From May 2016, Flybe started multi-weekly flights to Alicante and Málaga.
In 2016, a facility for testing aircraft engines opened at the airport. The KLM UK Engineering Academy also opened on 18 April 2017.
On 6 July 2017, the airport's Managing Director, Richard Pace, shared a 30-year plan. The goal is to triple the number of passengers. They aim for 930,000 passengers by 2030 and 1.4 million by 2045. The plans include adding new routes to Paris Charles de Gaulle and Dublin. This would offer more worldwide travel choices. They also plan to build a 100-acre business park for aviation and other companies.
Further plans include making Runway 27/09 longer by 500 metres (1,600 ft). They also want to build new taxiways. This would allow more and larger aircraft to use the airport. Another goal is to allow flights until 01:30 four nights a week. Currently, flights must stop by 23:00.
In April 2018, the passenger terminal began a big renovation. It was finished in Spring 2019. This project increased the number of shops and food places for passengers. The airport also improved its Executive Lounge, which was completed in May 2018.
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In April 2019, Flybe announced they would stop jet flights from Norwich Airport in winter 2019/20. This was because they were returning their Embraer 195 aircraft.
In July 2019, the Norfolk County Council and Norwich City Council sold their remaining 19.9% share in the airport. It was bought by Regional and City Airports.
Airport Facilities
Runways and Parking Areas
Norwich Airport has one main runway, called 09/27. It is 1,841 metres (6,040 ft) long. There was a smaller runway (04/22) that was 1,285 metres (4,216 ft) long. It closed in 2006. Now, parts of it are used as a taxiway and for parking planes that are no longer in use. The airport's main parking area for commercial aircraft has nine spots.
Companies at the Airport
Several companies operate from Norwich Airport. These include CHC Scotia, Bristow Helicopters, NHV Helicopters, SaxonAir Charter & SaxonAir Flight Support, and the East Anglian Air Ambulance.
Airlines and Destinations
The following airlines offer regular flights to and from Norwich:
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Blue Islands | Seasonal: Jersey |
| KLM | Amsterdam |
| Loganair | Aberdeen |
| TUI Airways | Tenerife–South Seasonal: Corfu, Dalaman, Heraklion, Ibiza, Menorca, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Rhodes |
Airport Statistics
In 2022, Norwich Airport had a total of 15,291 aircraft movements. This means about 42 planes took off or landed each day. The total number of passengers in 2022 was 319,040.
| rank | destination airport |
total passengers |
change 2021 / 22 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amsterdam | 83,751 |  622.3% |
| 2 | Aberdeen | 32,346 | 35.4% |
| 3 | Palma de Mallorca | 26,323 | 697.9% |
| 4 | Tenerife–South | 22,110 | 381.4% |
| 5 | Dalaman | 14,050 | new route |
| 6 | Menorca | 13,880 | new route |
| 7 | Corfu | 8,577 | 233.1% |
| 8 | Heraklion | 8,512 | new route |
| 9 | Rhodes | 8,315 | new route |
| 10 | Ibiza | 8,088 | new route |
Getting to the Airport
Bus Services
Konectbus runs the 501 Norwich Park and Ride service. It connects the airport terminal to Norwich city centre. This bus runs six days a week (not Sundays), about every 15 minutes.
Konectbus also has route 35, called "Canary Konect." This bus travels between The Nest and Carrow Park (near Carrow Road) via the Airport Terminal. It runs about every 60 minutes, seven days a week.
Other bus routes, like Konectbus 512 and 515, Sanders Coaches Routes 43, X40, 44A, and X44, and First Eastern Counties route 37, stop within a ten-minute walk of the terminal.
Road Access
Norwich Airport is next to the A140 Cromer Road. This road goes from Ipswich, through Norwich, and to the town of Cromer. It also provides easy road access to Norwich city centre. The airport entrance is about 3 miles (5 km) from the city centre. The A1270 Broadland Northway (also known as the Norwich Northern Distributor Road or NDR) connects the airport to the A47. This road goes to Lowestoft in the east and Fakenham in the west, as well as Norwich itself.
Train Station
The closest train station is Norwich railway station. It is about 4 miles (6.4 km) away from the airport.
See also
In Spanish: Aeropuerto Internacional de Norwich para niños
