FlyaSpitfire.com, a company that offers flights in Spitfires, has announced that it will operate from Cotswold Airport in Kemble starting this summer.
The company’s managing director, Peter Monk, confirmed that the new location would be a permanent extension of FlyaSpitfire.com and will have space for multiple Supermarine Spitfires with full engineering support on-site and all-year-round operation.
Having Spitfires based here echoes history as Maintenance Units and Air Transport Auxiliary operations were at RAF Kemble in the 1940s.
The Cotswold Airport, which is the largest private business airport in the Southwest, boasts a 2009m (6,600ft) hard runway and grass strip with viewing areas and an onsite cafe for visitors. It's hoped the new location will make it easy for anyone in the west of London, the Midlands and Southwest England to enjoy a FlyaSpitfire.com flight over some of the UK’s most picturesque countryside.
Flights can include routes over the Cotswolds, Severn Estuary, North Devon coast and the Isle of Wight.
FlyaSpitfire.com already operates from its Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar location in Kent.
The company says the decision to operate from Cotswold Airport was also driven by the airport’s commitment to sustainable aviation technologies. Cotswold Airport hosted the world’s first flight using 100% synthetic fuel in 2021 and, in January this year, another ground-breaking flight took place – a test flight of the world’s largest aircraft powered by a hydrogen-electric engine.
Suzannah Harvey, CEO of Cotswold Airport, said: “We’re thrilled to welcome FlyaSpitfire.com to Cotswold Airport and this is the fruition of four years of planning and talks. They will be a most welcomed addition to our historic aircraft already on display here and provide incredible experiences for aviation enthusiasts”.
