London Biggin Hill Airport (IATA: BQH, ICAO: EGKB) is an airport at Biggin Hill in the London Borough of Bromley, located 12 NM (22 km; 14 mi) south-southeast of Central London. The airport was formerly the Royal Air Force station RAF Biggin Hill, and a small enclave on the airport still retains that designation.
Biggin Hill is best known for its role during the Battle of Britain in the Second World War, when it served as one of the principal fighter bases protecting London and South East England from attack by enemy bombers. Over the course of the war, fighters based at Biggin Hill claimed 1,400 enemy aircraft, at the cost of the lives of 453 Biggin Hill based aircrew.
Today the airport has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P804) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Regional Airports Limited). It specialises in general aviation, handling a spectrum of traffic from private aviation to large business jets. It currently has no scheduled airline service.
Read more about London Biggin Hill Airport: History of The Airport, The Airport Today, Airlines and Destinations, Accidents, In Popular Culture
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