Yes. Biggin Hill handles business aviation rather than scheduled flights, so a collection is arranged through the operator using the tail number and the slot, with the vehicle registration submitted in advance and apron access where the handler authorises it.
Category
Airports
Contact
+44 7775 554848 or info@firstclass-chauffeurs.co.uk
01/The short answer
Yes. Biggin Hill handles business aviation rather than scheduled flights, so a collection is arranged through the operator using the tail number and the slot, with the vehicle registration submitted in advance and apron access where the handler authorises it.
The airport sits in the Borough of Bromley on the south-eastern edge of London, which makes it unusually convenient for the City and for anywhere in Kent. It is a former RAF station and it still feels like one, in the best sense.
QA-01/What a Biggin Hill collection involves
What a Biggin Hill collection involves
The handler is briefed before the day with the chauffeur's name, the vehicle and its registration. On arrival the car is on site well ahead of the slot rather than at it, because there is no immigration queue to absorb a late chauffeur.
Where apron access is granted the meet happens at the aircraft steps, which is about as short a ground segment as exists. Where it is not, the meet is in the terminal, which is small enough that the difference is a short walk.
Business aviation only, no scheduled passenger flights
Arranged through the operator or handler, not a terminal
Tail number and slot time rather than a flight number
Apron access where authorised in advance
Convenient for the City, south London and the whole of Kent
QA-02/Where it sits relative to London
Where it sits relative to London
The run into the City is one of the shorter airport journeys available, and considerably shorter than anything from the west. For the eastern half of London and the Kent and Sussex commuter belt, Biggin Hill is the closest business airfield there is.
Into the West End it is longer, because the route crosses south London. That is still comfortably quicker than Farnborough on most days, which is why the two airfields split the London business traffic roughly by compass point.
QA-03/Departures from Biggin Hill
Departures from Biggin Hill
A private departure has none of the check-in machinery that makes a commercial one forgiving, so the collection time is built to put you at the airfield ahead of the slot with real margin. The A21 and the M25 eastern quadrant both deserve respect on a weekday.
Where a slot is brought forward, which happens, we would rather know at once than be told at the gate. Give us the operations contact at the booking stage and that message reaches us directly.
QA-04/Combining with a commercial leg
Combining with a commercial leg
A common pattern is a long-haul arrival at Heathrow followed by a private departure from Biggin Hill, which is a run right across London and needs planning rather than optimism. It is booked as one journey with two airport ends.
The reverse is more forgiving, since a private arrival gives you a known landing time and no baggage hall. Even so, the timing is anchored to the commercial flight's cutoff, because that is the leg with the harder deadline.
No. It operates as a business aviation airport, which is what makes the ground arrangements different from a commercial terminal. Everything is coordinated with the operator or handler rather than read off a public arrivals board.
How long does Biggin Hill to the City take?
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Considerably less than any London airport to the west, though the exact time depends on the hour and the route north through south London. It is one of the better ground positions of any airfield serving London, particularly for eastern destinations.
Can you cover Biggin Hill at short notice?
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Usually, since the airfield sits close to a well-covered part of the South East. What needs notice is apron access, because the authorisation is arranged in advance. Without it the meet happens in the terminal instead, which is a minor difference.
Tell us the journey. We will send the price in writing.
Message us the date, the pick-up and where you are going. You will get a fixed written quotation with the vehicle, the chauffeur’s arrival time and what the figure includes — no form to fill in, and no estimate that moves later.
