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I get on the tarmac at Southampton Airport to see why 164m of new runway is a big deal

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On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, whilst the north of the country was dealing with snow, I headed down to Southampton Airport to see their new runway extension.

Rob has written before about the convenience of Southampton Airport, not just from the local area but from London as well. I didn’t quite believe him until I stepped off the train from Waterloo (which takes just over an hour) and saw the airport terminal literally about 100 metres away!

Sadly, I wasn’t flying anywhere. I’d been invited down for a tour by the team at the airport.

Southampton Airport behind the scenes tour

When I arrived at around 1pm the airport was in one of it’s afternoon lulls, before the next bank of flights around 4pm. It was exceptionally quiet, so I asked if we could drive down the runway ….. and to my surprise, the answer was yes.

I’ve never stood on an active runway before (outside of an aircraft, that is ….) so this was a novelty.

The reason was to have a closer look at the runway extension that was opened last year. You can see this in the photo above, starting with the zebra crossing.

In the context of a 1.8km runway, a 164m extension may seem inconsequential. In reality it makes a huge difference.

It will let larger aircraft such as easyJet’s A320s operate from Southampton, which the airport hopes will increase the number of airlines and destinations on offer. Historically the airport has been restricted to the smaller aircraft operated by BA Cityflyer, Loganair, Eastern and the ex-Flybe.

Southampton Airport behind the scenes tour

I did ask our driver if he could do a ‘Top Gear’ style drag race down the runway but he politely declined …..

Depending the wind, the runway can operate in either direction, swapping between ’02’ and ’20’ designations.

Inside the terminal at Southampton Airport

After my trip down the tarmac we headed into the terminal building.

A number of changes are happening at the airport this year, including reconfiguration of the duty free area. This will be extended slightly, with the area for passengers needing assistance being moved as well.

Southampton Airport behind the scenes tour

There are just nine boarding gates at Southampton Airport, although depending on aircraft size they can’t all be in use at once.

The wave-shaped building ensures that plenty of light gets into the departure lounge, which features its own waves of comfy-looking seating. The only thing missing is charging ports.

Southampton Airport behind the scenes tour

Upstairs, you’ll find the dining area with a Costa cafe, an airport-run restaurant-pub called The Olive Tree and the The Spitfire Lounge which I’ll be reviewing separately.

Southampton Airport behind the scenes tour

Where can I fly from Southampton Airport?

Passenger numbers at Southampton remain at around 50% of where they were pre-covid. This isn’t as much a pandemic story as a Flybe story, as the airline used to operate 80% of flights from Southampton.

The airport has worked hard since then to add new carriers. Airlines such as Eastern Airways and Loganair offer domestic connections whilst BA Cityflyer and and easyJet offer popular holiday routes. The BA Cityflyer operation uses aircraft which would otherwise be unused during the weekend closure of London City Airport.

The list of destinations is here and currently includes:

  • Alderney
  • Alicante
  • Amsterdam
  • Belfast
  • Bergerac
  • Chambery
  • Dublin
  • Edinburgh
  • Faro
  • Geneva
  • Glasgow
  • Guernsey
  • Jersey
  • Malaga
  • Mallorca
  • Newcastle
  • Paris

If you live in London and have easy access to Waterloo or Clapham Junction railway stations, Southampton Airport is well worth checking out. There are also direct trains from Oxford, Leamington Spa, Reading and even Coventry and Birmingham.

The connection from train to plane is exceptionally fast and the terminal impressively quiet. It’s also an option for hiring a car to tour the south coast if you want to save the slow crawl in and out of central London.

Thank you to the Southampton Airport team for hosting me.

Category

General

Comments (61)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Michael C says:
    22 Jan22 January 06:00

    Oxford-(Reading)-Southampton Airport Parkway also by direct train: 78 mins!

    • RussellH says:
      22 Jan22 January 12:45

      Only just been able to read this article, but was thinking much the same – through trains from Birmingham via Birmingham Internation / Airport, Coventry, Leamington Spa, Banbury, Oxford… to Southampton Airport Parkway.

      One could easily fly out from one airport and back to the other, always provided that the flights are to places one would want to fly to.

  • ukpolak says:
    22 Jan22 January 06:11

    Flights booked to Palma for June, and Malaga for summer hols with BA. Such a doddle and we live 15 min drive away.

    Our last flight to PMI arrived early and we got to sit in the cockpit for a few mins – great crew really made both of my daughters’ day.

    The only slight concern is if BA do indeed load up those jets with 8 more rows. Honestly they’re so spacious you forget what’s it’s like in a 737 or A320.

    • daveinitalia says:
      22 Jan22 January 08:05

      I think it’s 8 more seats, not 8 more rows. It’ll be a shame to lose the current legroom, but I believe the rows in front of the exit will remain the same. If you’re flying in economy and don’t have status this would make it worth paying to select a seat in one of these rows

      • ukpolak says:
        22 Jan22 January 08:36

        Ah ok I yes stand corrected – at the moment it’s such a luxury so let’s see how it changes.

        Plus the early morning weekend departures tend to coincide with the airport being absolutely dead and you’re in resort for lunch time.

  • taxaholic says:
    22 Jan22 January 07:39

    It is a real dilemma for me this one. The beauty of Southampton is how quiet it is and ease of access, security etc. However, to get the extra flights and destinations it needs to become busier and that will then ruin the ease. Flew back from Geneva in December and plane door to my front door was 20 minutes. Flying out to Geneva though, security was a bit swamped by the number of easyjet passengers and I have never seen anyone before me at security in Southampton before, let alone a queue. It is though by far the best and easiest airport for me, I just need the extra destinations added.

    A few tips to return the favour to the site:

    The airport has a drop off fee but the train station, which is next door, does not. Just drop off at the station.

    The train station also has a very large carpark and multistorey carpark and it is often cheaper to park at the station than the airport, especially at weekends.

  • Phantomchickenz says:
    22 Jan22 January 07:54

    Zebra crossing?!?

  • TimM says:
    22 Jan22 January 08:04

    I do wonder why the only runway at Southampton is designated 02/20!

    • Andy says:
      22 Jan22 January 08:16

      Because the orientation facing north east as at 20 degrees which means that facing south west is 200 degrees.

      In the same way that Heathrow’s runways are 9/27 because in easterly ops they are at 90 degrees and westerly at 270 degrees.

    • DanATC says:
      22 Jan22 January 08:22

      Runways are numbered based on their compass bearing in degrees – so Southampton’s is 20°, when you switch directions (e.g. spin 180°) it becomes 200°, hence 02/20.

      Heathrow’s two runways both run east-west in parallel and are therefore numbered 09/27R (90° / 270° Right) and 09/27L.

      • Colin MacKinnon says:
        22 Jan22 January 08:57

        And every so often they have to change the numbers due to the movement of the magnetic North Pole!

    • Pbdj says:
      22 Jan22 January 10:40

      02 is the approach heading (20 degrees off north) one way and 20 is the heading (20 degrees off south) in opposite wind scenarios. Have a look at it on the map if it helps – by same logic Heathrow is has runways called 27/9 L and R (just left and right cos it has 2 in same orientation)

      • Pbdj says:
        22 Jan22 January 10:41

        Should have refreshed my comments since morning earlier – I see I was beaten to it by hours!

  • Gerry Howe says:
    22 Jan22 January 08:04

    Thank you Rhys for a review of Southampton airport. Lovely place but needs more destinations. But easy for us living in this direction.
    What about a similar review of Bournemouth airport please? It seems to be busier than Southampton but an update would be great for us south coast folk who find Gatwick an utter pain to get to!

  • Angela says:
    22 Jan22 January 08:20

    I find flights from/to Southampton are expensive compared to other regional airports and certainly more expensive than LHR or LGW, even when taking travel to and from into consideration, and I live 15 mins from SOU

  • Danny says:
    22 Jan22 January 08:54

    “I’ve never stood on an active runway before (outside of an aircraft, that is ….) so this was a novelty”

    Rhys needs a trip to Gibraltar!

    • Rhys says:
      22 Jan22 January 11:56

      …actually, I have been! But it’s not quite the same 😉

    • The Original David says:
      22 Jan22 January 15:47

      The question is: has he stood on an active runway while he’s *inside* an aircraft? Seems to me like a great time to keep your seatbelt fastened, but what do I know…?

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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