As one of Europe’s top business aviation airports, London Biggin Hill faced major turbulence in 2020 from the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite lockdowns and travel restrictions, Biggin Hill was the only London airport to stay fully operational throughout the period. Its management were determined to strike a positive tone during the crisis. We worked with them to roll-out a series of initiatives that underlined London Biggin Hill’s dependability and leadership.
With the airport’s head of marketing, we developed a bursting pipeline of confident measures. Together, we created London Biggin Hill’s Contactless Travel programme, promoting private aviation as Covid-safe and available for urgent travel as airlines scaled back operations. We introduced a support plan for air charter operators, offering financial and operational benefits to help them weather the storm. We opened a dedicated airport Covid testing centre, the Mansi Suite, named after a local doctor who risked his life for patients during the Second World War, securing extensive trade and mainstream news coverage. Most recently, we launched the airport’s Futures Week to encourage 14-19-year-olds to learn about career opportunities in aviation.
We secured a major share of voice for London Biggin Hill throughout the pandemic, with 166 pieces of quality media coverage in 2020 and 148 in the first ten months of 2021. We wrote 68 LinkedIn posts which achieved an average engagement of 5.94% and grew the airport’s followers by 35%. Having gone into the pandemic as London’s third busiest private aviation airport for flight movements, London Biggin Hill has in 2021 moved up to second place, confirming the success of its bold marketing stance.
