Southampton Airport: Runway Extended, Loganair Base Opens, and New Routes

Southampton Airport — located in Eastleigh, approximately one mile from the town centre — extended its runway by 164 metres in September 2023, a £15 million investment designed to enable the airport to handle larger aircraft and attract more routes.

The extension was not without controversy. The High Court rejected a judicial review challenge from campaign groups opposed to the expansion, and the airport proceeded with construction after years of planning battles.

Passenger numbers in 2024

In 2024, the airport handled approximately 863,000 passengers — below the forecast of 1.1 million for the year. The airport attributed the shortfall partly to the time required to rebuild route networks after the pandemic and partly to airline capacity decisions at a national level.

The longer-term growth cap set in the planning permission is 3 million passengers per year, a figure the airport does not expect to reach before 2033.

Loganair establishes a base — October 2025

In October 2025, Loganair — the Scottish regional airline — announced it was establishing its 10th operating base at Southampton Airport. The base means aircraft and crew are stationed at Southampton permanently, enabling a more resilient and expanded schedule.

New and increased-frequency routes from the base include:
- Southampton–Manchester (new)
- Manchester–Exeter (operated as part of a through-service)
- Southampton–Edinburgh (increased frequency)

Getting to Southampton Airport from Eastleigh

Southampton Airport has its own railway station — Southampton Airport Parkway — on the Eastleigh-to-Southampton mainline. The journey from Eastleigh station takes approximately 2 minutes. There is also a short-stay and long-stay car park, and taxi/private hire services from Eastleigh town centre typically take under 10 minutes.

Sources: Southampton Airport official site; Eastleigh News; AeroXplorer; Rail UK