Stobart Aviation is relaunching its FBO at London Southend Airport in the UK, with plans to handle more than seven times the number of flights it currently does.
The expanded Stobart Jet Center will open next month for private flights into London and replaces an existing facility, which handles around 700 flights a year. The new Jet Center has capacity to cater for 5,000 flights per year by 2022.
Speaking at the NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition in Las Vegas, Stephen Grimes, managing director of Stobart Jet Center Limited, said, “Convenience, speed and comfort are absolutely vital to the business and private aviation market. This has been at the heart of our thinking in developing our new terminal.
“The Stobart Jet Center will offer guests and pilots a smooth, premium experience because we can offer 24-hour availability and departure routes outside London’s crowded airspace. We are confident that London Southend Airport will become a refreshing, hassle-free alternative to London’s current, crowded private aviation terminals.
“It will appeal to sports stars and teams who want to get to London for matches hassle free, CEOs who have urgent meetings and need the flexibility to fly in any time day or night and VIPs from the Middle East and Europe who want to get straight into the heart of the West End.”
The center will be open every day of the year apart from Christmas Day, a service which only one of the five other private jet terminals in London offers.
London Southend Airport is 42 miles from the center of London, with rail journeys of 45 minutes and helicopter links of 10 minutes to the city. Car services can drive right up to aircraft and chauffeur transfers are less than an hour by road to central London and only 30 minutes to the M25, the London orbital motorway.
London Southend Airport also has no slot restrictions and offers on-site immigration and customs, with pre-clearance available to qualifying passengers. The Stobart Jet Center also offers a VIP lounge with complimentary catering, refreshments and business services, as well as competitive landing, parking and handling prices in the London area, said Stobart.
For example, to park a Boeing business jet at London Southend Airport for 24 hours costs around £1,000 (US$1,300).
