As an antidote to those who bash airports…
We went to Gloucestershire the other day for some training. We were there all morning, and did several flights.
ATC were extremely helpful, facilitated our pauses for pilot swaps and fitted us in with their other traffic.
The best bit was that there was a deal for a training ’Day Rate" which was good value. It is on their web site, you have to take some fuel to claim this concession, but as the fuel was cheaper than we pay at home base that was no hardship.
We’ll be back.
Yep, it is a very nice airport.
And it amazes me other airfields don’t simply copy their model.
What I am told by locals is that this is the work of one smart guy. He even used to post here 
Anally retarded managers are much more common.
Yes matspart is good but can’t be just him.
It’s not just matspart3, the entire team are great. It’s also blessed by being treated as infrastructure by the local councils (who own it).
EGBJ is just about to become I think the busiest airport in the country for 1 week, during the Cheltenham Festival. Race week is always fun around town, and the airport is buzzing.
And they actively discourage hi-vis vests
As in all business, it starts with top management. If that’s no good, the rest is no good even if – as is usually the case – the people on the ground are good.
Gloucester also has other benefits:
Most UK GA airfields don’t have most of the items on the list. For example, Shoreham has only #1.
An affluent area is sometimes a bad thing. Some people get very vocal about noise and perceive airports as a bad thing in their back yard.
And Gloucester has to fight wars with local government who are also its shareholders.
