Located 6.9 miles northwest of the university city of Oxford and 62 miles from central London, Oxford Airport (OXF) is a privately owned airfield that caters to business aviation. Home to Leading Edge Aviation, Volare Aviation, and the United Kingdom, home of Airbus Helicopters, London Oxford Airport (OXF) competes with other London airports for private jet charters.
As the only International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) recognized airport in Oxfordshire, historically, London Oxford Airport (OXF) is known for being a pilot training center. Because London Oxford Airport (OXF) has a 5,092-foot-long asphalt runway, it can handle planes as large as the 78-passenger de Havilland Canada DHC-8, which makes it suitable for being a regional feeder airport for the 152,450 people that call Oxford home.
The history of London Oxford Airport (OXF)
Constructed by Oxford City Council in 1935 to be a municipal airport for the city during World War Two, it was requisitioned by the Royal Air Force and called "RAF Kidlington" due to its proximity to the village of the same name. During the war, the airport was used as a training base and maintenance center by the RAF and home to the following squadrons:
- No. 52 Squadron RAF
- No. 167 Squadron RAF
- No. 239 Squadron RAF
- No. 411 Squadron RCAF
Units of the above squadrons were:
- No. 1 Air Crew Holding Unit RAF
- No. 3 Maintenance Unit RAF
- No. 4 Glider Training School RAF
- No. 5 Glider Training School RAF
- No. 6 Service Flying Training School RAF
- No. 15 Service Flying Training School RAF
- No. 20 (Pilots) Advanced Flying Unit RAF
- No. 26 Elementary and Reserve Flying Training School RAF
- No. 42 (Maintenance) Group RAF
- No. 96 Maintenance Unit RAF
- No. 101 (Glider) Operational Training Unit RAF
- No. 102 (Glider) OTU RAF
- No. 265 Maintenance Unit RAF
- No. 2792 Squadron RAF Regiment
At one time, OXF was the second-busiest airport in the UK
Following the war, the airport was the home of the Oxford Gliding Club between 1951 and 1956 until they relocated to RAF Weston-On-The-Green due to an increase in powered aircraft at what was still referred to as RAF Kidlington. Privately owned powered aircraft became so prominent that by 1968, it had become the second-busiest aircraft after London Heathrow Airport (LHR), with 223,270 movements.
In 1981, Oxford City Council regained control of the airport and sold it to Signature Aviation, an Orlando, Florida-based multinational aviation services company. The airport was sold again in 2007 to David and Simon Reuben, the second-wealthiest family in the United Kingdom with a net worth of £16 billion.
2009 saw the first commercial flights operated by Air Southwest with summer-only flights to the Channel Island of Jersey. In the summer of 2009, the airport was rebranded as London Oxford Airport (OXF) despite it being more than 60 miles from the capital.
OXF was approved for the Pet Travel Scheme
Two months after the rebranding, the airport was approved as a United Kingdom entry point for domestic animals such as cats and dogs. At the time, it was one of just two private jet airports approved for the Pet Travel Scheme.
London Oxford Airport (OXF) is the fourth-busiest private jet airport in the UK. Most private jet owners and charter companies prefer London Farnborough Airport (FAB) because of its state-of-the-art facilities and easy access to London.