Departure
98%
vs 95% ▲ 3
MY FS FLIGHTS
MY FS FLIGHTS
Gloucestershire Airport, formerly Staverton Airport, sits between the Roman city of Gloucester and the Regency town of Cheltenham, close to the M5 motorway. Built on the site of a former RAF training station, it is today a busy general aviation field handling private charter, flight training and pleasure flying. Its ILS-equipped main runway and mix of hard and grass strips make it a useful and interesting destination for VFR pilots exploring the Cotswolds.
Gloucestershire Airport (ICAO EGBJ, IATA GLO), known for six decades as Staverton Airport before its 1993 renaming, is operated by Gloucestershire Airport Limited at Staverton in Gloucestershire. It is a general aviation aerodrome rather than a scheduled airline hub, with the majority of its movements made up of private aircraft, business charters, flight training and pleasure flying, alongside a long-standing role supporting emergency services helicopters. For the sim pilot it offers an interesting mix of a full-length hard runway with ILS, two shorter crossing hard runways, and a grass strip, all set within a well-known general aviation environment in the heart of the Cotswolds.
The airport lies in the Cotswolds near the city of Gloucester and close to the M5 motorway, within the Borough of Tewkesbury in the county of Gloucestershire. It is about 3.5 nautical miles west of Cheltenham. Road access is via Junctions 10 and 11 of the M5 and the A40, both of which lie close to the field and can serve as useful ground reference points when navigating visually into the area.
Gloucestershire Airport has four physical runways. The main runway, 09/27, is 4695 ft in the 09 direction and 3771 ft in the 27 direction, hard-surfaced and lit, with an ILS serving runway 27. Runway 04/22 is hard-surfaced and lit, measuring 3242 ft on the 04 heading and 2947 ft on the 22 heading. Runway 18/36 is a shorter hard, lit runway of 2633 ft in both directions. A grass runway, 04R/22L, of 1014 ft is also lit and available. Field elevation is 82 ft.
Gloucestershire Airport is served by air traffic control, using the callsigns Gloster Approach and Gloster Tower. Published frequencies are Approach (Gloster App) on 128.55 MHz, ATIS on 127.475 MHz, an emergency frequency (Fire) on 121.6 MHz, Radar on 120.975 MHz, and Tower (Gloster Tower) on 122.9 MHz. Runway 27 is equipped with an ILS for instrument approaches.
The airport is readily located from the air by its position close to the M5 motorway, near Junctions 10 and 11, and the A40, with the built-up areas of Gloucester and Cheltenham providing further orientation to the east and west respectively.
An airfield was first opened at the site in 1931, named after the nearby village of Staverton. From 1936 until the 1950s it operated as RAF Staverton, used for training and operations by the Royal Air Force. In its civilian era it also provided scheduled services to the Channel Islands, Dublin and the Isle of Man. The 1960s saw the opening of the Skyfame Museum, dedicated to Second World War aircraft, at the site, and in the 1990s both Police Aviation Services and Bond Air Services based their helicopter operations and headquarters here. The airport was renamed Gloucestershire Airport in 1993 to reflect its growing role as the county's business aviation centre. A notable aircraft associated with the field is an Avro York, which made the type's last ever flight when it flew from Heathrow to Gloucestershire Airport to join the Skyways preservation collection. In 2009 the airport was granted planning permission for an expansion scheme, first proposed in 2006, which included lengthening a runway, though the plans proved divisive within the local community.
Gloucestershire Airport today functions as a general aviation and business aviation centre, hosting numerous aviation organisations including fixed-wing and helicopter flight training schools, private and business charter operators, maintenance, repair and overhaul providers, handling agents, pleasure flight operators and aviation charities. It remains a popular base for trial flying lessons and pleasure flights as well as for private and charter traffic, and continues to support emergency services aircraft operating in the region.
