Farnborough's terminal boost

The opening of a new executive terminal at Farnborough Airport fuelled a 23% lift in turnover to £30.5 million in 2007, latest accounts show.

The home of the historic airshow soared from a £1 million pre-tax loss in 2006 to a £2.2 million profit last year, the first full year of operation for the new terminal.

Farnborough is operating at close to its limit of 28,000 flights a year. It has raised landing fees and is also turning away smaller aircraft in favour of 50-tonne to 80-tonne business jets. These slots bring in more money, and only 500 of an annual quota of 1500 are being used.

The improvement in the airport's performance boosted shareholders' funds by £2.4 million to £15.1 million, making Farnborough an even more valuable asset for its owner TAG, a Swiss-based private aviation company controlled by Saudi tycoons the Ojjeh brothers.