Exeter Airport. The short cut past six hours of motorway.
Devon and Cornwall are a long day by road from London and a short hop by air. Exeter is the field that makes the difference, and the drive that follows it is the part most people plan badly.
The airport
Exeter at a glance
- CodesEXT / EGTEAt Clyst Honiton in East Devon, on the eastern edge of the city.
- To Exeter city centreAbout four milesTen to twenty minutes in normal traffic.
- Runway08/26, 2,076 metresComfortable for turboprops, light and midsize jets and many super midsize types.
- RoadsA30 at the perimeterThe M5 is about a mile and a half west at junction 29, which is the gateway to the whole south west.
- Executive aviationA separate jet centreXLR Executive Jet Centre handles corporate movements away from the passenger terminal, with direct access to the apron.
- Executive hoursPublished as 08:00 to 20:00Out of hours access is available on request through the jet centre and your handling agent.
- Also on the fieldMaintenance and air ambulanceA large maintenance hangar and the Devon Air Ambulance and police air support base.
- The alternativeBournemouth, about 90 miles eastA longer runway and a longer drive. See Bournemouth.
Exeter is a small field with a long runway for its size. Ask your operator to confirm that your aircraft and your sector work from it before you build the day around it.
Journey times
From Exeter by road
| To | Quiet roads | Busy periods |
|---|---|---|
| Exeter city centre and St Davids station | 10 to 20 minutes | 20 to 35 minutes |
| Topsham and the Exe estuary | 15 to 25 minutes | 20 to 35 minutes |
| Dartmoor, Chagford and Gidleigh | 45 to 60 minutes | 55 to 80 minutes |
| Dartmouth and the South Hams | 60 to 80 minutes | 80 to 110 minutes |
| Salcombe | 75 to 95 minutes | 95 to 130 minutes |
| Rock and Padstow | 100 to 125 minutes | 130 to 170 minutes |
| St Mawes and the Roseland | 115 to 140 minutes | 145 to 185 minutes |
| Bristol city centre | 85 to 105 minutes | 105 to 135 minutes |
Realistic ranges, not promises. Saturdays between late July and the end of August are the problem: the whole of Devon and Cornwall changes over its holiday lets on the same morning, and the A30 and A38 west of Exeter can add an hour to any of these.
Why clients choose it
The far south west without the day in the car
The case for Exeter is simple arithmetic. London to a house near Salcombe or Rock is five to seven hours of driving on a good day and considerably worse on a bad one. Flown into Exeter, the same journey becomes a short sector and an hour or two on the ground, and the afternoon survives. For owners with a second home in Devon or Cornwall, for a board meeting at a country house hotel, or for a family joining a yacht at Dartmouth or Falmouth, it is usually the sensible field.
It is also the practical alternative to the long drive west from Bristol or Bournemouth. Cornwall has its own airport further down the peninsula, but for anything in east Cornwall, the South Hams or Dartmoor, landing at Exeter and driving is generally quicker end to end than landing closer and driving on roads that are slower than the map suggests.
On the day
Where the car waits and how we meet you
Corporate movements use the executive jet centre rather than the main terminal, with its own entrance, lounge and parking and direct access to the apron. We speak to the handling agent for your flight, agree where the car should be and what time it should be there, and where the airport permits it for that movement, the car can be brought to the aircraft. That permission is the airport's to give and we confirm it rather than assume it.
For a scheduled arrival your chauffeur meets you inside the terminal with a name board. The terminal is small and the walk to the car is short, which is one of the pleasures of a regional field. We track the flight from departure, so a delay moves the car rather than costing you waiting time.
What we handle
Details that make a south west arrival work
Long onward drives, narrow lanes and luggage that does not fit a boot.
- Flight tracking on both legs, with the return timed backwards from the last useful departure
- Coordination with the executive jet centre and the handling agent, including ramp access where it is permitted
- Realistic planning for the A30 and A38 in high summer rather than optimistic map times
- Larger vehicles for families, dogs, boards and golf bags, which a saloon simply will not take
- Estate and coastal addresses checked in advance, because a lane with passing places is not a driveway
Coverage
Our cars, and cars we arrange
Odyssey owns its cars and employs its chauffeurs in London and Manchester. In Devon and Cornwall we work with operators we know and have used before, to our brief and under our booking, so you deal with one team and one number wherever the car is. A long onward drive is usually better in a V-Class than an S-Class once there are three passengers and holiday luggage, and we will say so when we quote. If you need the aircraft as well, we arrange that: see private jet charter.
Onward
Where Exeter passengers go next
Other airports
Aircraft that suit the field
Request a quote
Tell us the destination
Flight details, passengers, luggage and the full address at the far end, including the postcode. Cornish and Dartmoor addresses matter: we check the approach before the day. Nothing is booked or charged online.
Prefer to talk? +44 2030 048300 or WhatsApp, at any hour.
Questions people ask
About Exeter transfers
Can the car come to the aircraft?
Where the airport and the handling agent permit it for your movement. Otherwise the car is at the jet centre door, a few steps away. We confirm before you land.
Is it quicker to fly to Exeter or drive from London?
For almost anywhere west of Exeter, flying and driving from the airport is quicker and far less tiring. For east Devon and Dorset the sums are closer.
Can you take us all the way into Cornwall?
Yes, and it is one of the most common jobs here. Give us the address and we will quote the real driving time rather than the map one.
What about a very early departure?
Tell us the flight time and we will plan the pick up backwards from it. Out of hours movements at the jet centre are arranged through your handling agent.
Can you arrange the aircraft as well?
Yes. See private jet charter.
