Farnborough Airport is preparing a planning application to Rushmoor Borough Council to significantly increase the number of flight movements at the Airport during weekends and Bank Holidays.
The Airport operator has recently consulted on their latest proposal to increase weekend and Bank Holiday flight numbers by 50% (from 8,900 to a proposed 13,500 flight movements per annum) whilst increasing the number of the heavy weight flights by 50% (from 270 to 405 per annum). They also propose to increase the lower limit of their ‘heavy weight’ aircraft category from 50 tonnes to 55 tonnes, so overall there would be somewhat more than a 50% increase in heavy weekend flights.
Given that Farnborough Airport routinely promotes itself as a business airport (and therefore strongly promotes the economic benefits), it is concerning that the intensification is exclusively focused on weekend flights (when local residents are most likely to be relaxing at home).
It occurs to us that the increase of weekend aircraft movements is more focused on executive leisure market and less focused on business travel that would benefit the economy.
The Society is very concerned that the proposed increase in flight numbers and the higher percentage of heavy category aircraft is specifically concentrated on the weekends.
50% more weekend flights can only mean 50% more disturbance, particularly if many more of the flights are larger aircraft.
The Airport’s own consultation closed on 22nd October 2025, and the formal planning application is expected to follow soon after.
We will endeavour to update you when the application to Rushmoor Borough Council is submitted. Rushmoor will then hold a 30 day formal public consultation period when it will be open to comments from the wider public.
Feel free to contact the Society if you have any questions about this matter, and we will do our best to answer.