Bournemouth Airport. A long runway in the quiet corner of the south coast.
Hurn has more runway than its passenger numbers suggest, an executive jet centre away from the terminal, and Sandbanks, the New Forest and the Solent all inside an hour. For a summer weekend on the water it is the sensible arrival.
The airport
Bournemouth at a glance
- CodesBOH / EGHHAt Hurn in Dorset, near Christchurch, about four miles north of Bournemouth.
- Runway08/26, 2,272 metresLong enough for large business jets and for narrow bodied airliners.
- RoadsA338 Spur RoadAbout a mile east of the field, running straight into Bournemouth, with the A31 east to the M27 and M3.
- Executive aviationA separate jet centreXLR Executive Jet Centre sits on the north east side of the field with its own lounge, crew facilities and gated car parking.
- Executive hoursPublished as 07:00 to 19:00Access outside those hours is arranged on request through the jet centre and your handling agent.
- Aircraft handledUp to large typesThe jet centre publishes handling for corporate aircraft up to and including wide bodied and military transport aircraft.
- Also on the fieldA large aviation parkMaintenance, paint and completions businesses, including a factory backed Pilatus facility.
- The alternativeSouthampton, about 30 miles eastCloser to the eastern Solent but with a shorter runway. See Southampton.
Hurn rarely feels busy on the ground, which is much of its appeal. Confirm the operating window for your own movement with your operator, because the airfield's hours are not the same as the jet centre's.
Journey times
From Bournemouth Airport by road
| To | Quiet roads | Busy periods |
|---|---|---|
| Christchurch and Highcliffe | 10 to 20 minutes | 15 to 30 minutes |
| Bournemouth seafront and the hotels | 20 to 30 minutes | 30 to 45 minutes |
| Sandbanks and Poole Harbour | 30 to 45 minutes | 45 to 70 minutes |
| The New Forest, Brockenhurst and Lyndhurst | 25 to 40 minutes | 35 to 55 minutes |
| Lymington, for the Isle of Wight ferry | 35 to 50 minutes | 45 to 70 minutes |
| Southampton and the Solent marinas | 40 to 55 minutes | 55 to 80 minutes |
| Goodwood | 75 to 95 minutes | 95 to 130 minutes |
| Central London | 130 to 160 minutes | 165 to 215 minutes |
Realistic ranges, not promises. The Sandbanks run is short in miles and slow in practice, because Poole funnels everything through a few roads. In July and August the whole coast road is worse on a Friday evening and a Sunday afternoon.
Why clients choose it
The runway is longer than the airport looks
Hurn began as a wartime airfield and later as a manufacturing site, which is why a modest regional airport has a runway well over two kilometres and an industrial park full of hangars. For private movements that combination is useful: a heavier aircraft can use the field, and there is space and quiet on the ground at both ends of the day. It is a markedly calmer arrival than Southampton in the middle of a summer Saturday.
The catchment is the part clients care about. Sandbanks and Poole Harbour, the Dorset coast, the New Forest and the western Solent are all comfortably inside an hour, and Goodwood is reachable for a race day without an overnight. If your destination is east of Portsmouth, look at Southampton or Farnborough instead and we will tell you so.
On the day
Where the car waits and how we meet you
Private arrivals use the executive jet centre on the north east side of the field, which has its own road approach, gated parking and lounge, well away from the passenger terminal. We contact the handling agent for your movement, agree the gate and where the car should stand, and position it before the aircraft lands. Where the airport permits it for that flight, the car can be brought to the aircraft. Permission is the airport's to give, so we confirm what has been approved.
For a scheduled arrival your chauffeur meets you in the terminal with a name board. The building is small and the walk out is short. We track the inbound flight throughout, so a late landing moves the car rather than leaving it idling.
What we handle
Details that make a Solent weekend work
Boats, tides, ferries and a coast road that does not forgive optimism.
- Flight tracking on both legs, with the return timed backwards from a real departure slot
- Coordination with the jet centre and handling agent, including ramp access where it is permitted
- Quayside and marina drop offs at Poole, Lymington and the Solent, planned around the tender or the ferry rather than the clock
- Larger vehicles for crew, bags and equipment, which a saloon will not take
- Race day runs to Goodwood and Cowes Week traffic planned properly, not hopefully
Coverage
Our cars, and cars we arrange
Odyssey owns its cars and employs its chauffeurs in London and Manchester. In Dorset and Hampshire we work with operators we know and have used before, to our brief and under our booking, so you keep one contact and one number. Where the day involves a yacht, we can join the arrangements up: see yacht charter and Cowes Yacht Haven. If you need the aircraft as well, we arrange that: see private jet charter.
Onward
Where Bournemouth passengers go next
Request a quote
Tell us the weekend
Flight details, passengers, luggage, and where you are going: a house, a hotel, a marina berth or a ferry. If a boat or a tide is involved, tell us the time it actually matters. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Bournemouth transfers
Can the car come to the aircraft?
Where the airport and the handling agent permit it for your movement. Otherwise the car waits at the jet centre door. We confirm before you land.
Bournemouth or Southampton?
Bournemouth for Poole, Sandbanks, Dorset and the western New Forest, and for a heavier aircraft. Southampton for the eastern Solent, Hamble and Portsmouth, and for a shorter drive to Winchester.
Can you drop us at the marina rather than a hotel?
Yes. Give us the marina and the berth or the tender pick up point and we will plan the drop off around it.
How bad is the Sandbanks run really?
Longer than the mileage suggests, and materially worse in the school holidays and on summer weekends. We build that into the quote rather than discover it on the day.
Can you arrange the aircraft as well?
Yes. See private jet charter.
