Humberside Airport – Airfield Review

With winter weather earlier this year precluding many of the grass strips I had in mind to visit, the opportunity to fly still came along, so I chose to visit one of the main airports that had been on my list.

Humberside Airport (EGNJ) is located on the south side of the River Humber, on the opposite bank to Hull. A local landmark is the lengthy Humber Bridge which spans the water.

I was travelling from the north, so got to pass over this impressive structure.

Humberside occupies the former RAF Kirmington. Today it is a fairly quiet regional airport, operated by Eastern Airways which has a base here for maintaining its fleet of regional aircraft; a number of which were parked outside on my visit.

It is also a hub for helicopter flights out to the oil rigs in the North Sea. These come and go all day.

Today it has one main runway, 02/20, which is 7,205ft/2,196m, plus a smaller cross runway 08/26 at 2,822ft/860m which can be useful in crosswind conditions.

Despite this commercial side to its operations, general aviation is welcome and I noticed at least one flying club at the site and a number of light aircraft parked up nearby.

Visiting general aviation are directed to use the Southern Apron, in front of the hangars and to the west of the terminal building. Once parked, walk over to the operations hut, who will let you through to the landside area and direct you to the information desk in the terminal to pay your landing fee.

 

If you’re looking for food and refreshments, the large Aviator restaurant attached to the terminal should be find for your needs. It has a good menu of hot and cold snacks and drinks, and in a separate room there is a licensed bar (not for me on this visit!).

 

Despite this being a larger airport, I found the welcome great. On approach, ATC did their best to fit us in with other (more important) traffic without any of that audible eye-rolling you sometimes get at busier airports. After landing we were given tips on how to reach our stand without even asking. Then, when departing, the tower controller excitedly told us to look out for a couple of fast jets about to do a low pass.

The guys in the control hut, plus the staff in the restaurant and information desk were all friendly and welcoming.

 

Landing Fees

Flying in a Piper Tomahawk, our landing fee plus VAT came to about £25. You are allowed two hours of free parking for GA, and fees are higher the heavier your aircraft is.

 

Runways

02/20 – 2,196m concrete
08/26 – 860m concrete

Humberside Tower: 124.90
Humberside Radar: 119.120
Humberside ATIS: 124.12

 

 

Airport Website: https://www.humbersideairport.com/

 

So, for something a bit different to grass strips in the winter, Humberside is a welcoming and interesting place to visit, with all the benefits of full ATC, but none of the busyness of some of the larger airports.