Almost a year on from his appointment as CEO of Farnborough Airport, Simon Geere is looking forward to an exciting new chapter with what he believes is Europe's top private jet airport.

While commercial aviation has been devastated by the impact of Covid-19, the business aviation sector has seen an increase in demand over the past year and is expected to bounce back swiftly once travel resumes.

“As international borders re-open, Farnborough Airport is looking forward to welcoming its customers back. We recognise that for many of our customers, business aviation is the only practical way of connecting internationally. In the coming years business aviation will be at the forefront of driving the UK's economic recovery and supporting its post-Brexit global trade ambitions. International connectivity is fundamental to a prosperous and outwardly facing economy,” says Geere. “As the business aviation gateway to London and number one FBO in Europe, Farnborough Airport supports many thousands of jobs both locally and regionally. Throughout this pandemic we are particularly proud to have been able to maintain our employment levels, and we are actively recruiting as we look to support continued economic growth and inward investment. Farnborough Airport was the first business aviation airport to be awarded carbon neutral status back in 2018 and we are working with our industry partners to deliver further improvements in this area.”

Geere joined Farnborough Airport from Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA), bringing with him a wealth of experience, with over 25 years in aviation and airport leadership roles. Formerly holding both board positions and senior roles across several UK and European airports, he is also currently a board member of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton Airports, in addition to Farnborough Airport.

Originally setting out to be an architect, Geere changed course and undertook a degree in Transport Studies, which introduced him to his now long standing career in aviation. He started at BAA plc in 1994, later joining London Luton Airport as general manager aviation and then business development director, responsible for the airport's revenue generating projects. Joining MIRA in 2002, Geere took charge of driving operational performance across the European airport portfolio whilst steering the business through the many challenges faced by the aviation sector in the past 20 years.