Bournemouth Airport: a record year and new routes for 2027

Bournemouth Airport is growing faster than any other part of the town's transport system. The airport reported in April that 1,395,783 passengers used it in the year to 31 March 2026, up 26% and more than 289,000 on the year before. The growth came from the first full year of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, which began flying from Hurn in February 2025 with 16 destinations.

The airport marked 85 years in August, and the route map keeps widening. Ryanair's summer 2026 schedule offered around 20 routes including a new service to Trapani in Sicily and more flights to Alicante, Malaga and Edinburgh. TUI flew direct to Kos between May and September. Jet2 has since announced three new and exclusive routes for summer 2027 and a winter sun service to Malaga for 2026/27.

Why it matters beyond holidays

Most of that traffic is outbound: Dorset and Hampshire residents flying to the sun. But an airport with a growing schedule changes who can reach Bournemouth without going through London. Edinburgh is a two-way city-break route, and the Spanish and Italian services bring visiting families and, in the football season, away supporters for the Europa League nights at the Vitality.

For companies placing staff in Bournemouth, the airport is twenty minutes from the town centre at Hurn, and the Aviation Park around it is itself one of the town's employment centres. The business desk covers corporate stays; relocating to Bournemouth for work covers the practicalities of arriving.

Getting from the airport to the seafront

There is no rail link. A taxi to the West Cliff hotels takes around twenty minutes outside the rush hour, and the airport lists its bus connections on its own site. Arriving from London by train remains the simpler route for most visitors; our guide to getting to Bournemouth from London sets out train, coach and car.