Exeter Airport

About Exeter Airport

Exeter Airport (IATA: EXT, ICAO: EGTE) is the main commercial airport for Devon. It lies near the village of Clyst Honiton, about 5 miles (8 km) east of Exeter city centre, with quick access to the M5 motorway and the A30 dual carriageway. The airport serves both leisure and business travellers, with a mix of domestic routes, links to international hubs and holiday flights to the Mediterranean and the Canary Islands.

UK Civil Aviation Authority figures show that Exeter handled 572,260 terminal passengers in 2025, an increase of around 27 per cent on 2024. That is still well below 2019, when the airport handled more than one million passengers. Much of that earlier traffic came from Flybe, the regional airline that was based in Exeter until it collapsed in 2020.

Exeter Airport is operated by Regional & City Airports (RCA), which also runs Bournemouth and Norwich airports. RCA was acquired by investment firm ICG in 2025 after 12 years under Rigby Group. The airport has a single runway, 08/26, which is 2,076 metres long with an asphalt surface, and it also hosts business aviation through an XLR Executive Jet Centre.

How to get to Exeter Airport

By road

Exeter Airport is around 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from junction 29 of the M5, where drivers follow signs for the airport and Honiton. The A30 dual carriageway runs close to the airport and provides the main route from Honiton and east Devon. For satellite navigation, use the postcode EX5 2BD.

The airport has its own on-site car parks, which can be booked in advance through the official website. Apple Taxis Exeter is the only taxi firm authorised by the airport and has a desk in the arrivals area.

By bus and coach

Stagecoach runs two local bus routes to the airport:

• 4A: between Exeter Airport and Exeter St Davids railway station.
• 43: between Exeter Airport and Pinhoe railway station.

Both routes have a reduced timetable on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays, so it is worth checking times before travelling.

By train

There is no railway station at the airport, but several stations are within a short taxi or bus ride:

• Cranbrook (about 3 miles): trains towards London Waterloo and into Exeter.
• Exeter St Davids (about 7 miles): Great Western Railway services to London Paddington, Somerset, Devon and Cornwall.
• Exeter Central (about 6 miles): trains towards Honiton, Yeovil, Salisbury and London Waterloo.
• Digby & Sowton (about 5 miles): local services to Exeter St Davids and other Devon lines.

Terminal and facilities

Passenger services listed by the airport include:

• Executive Lounge for departing passengers.
• Fast Track Security, a paid option for quicker screening.
• Shops and cafés, including World Duty Free.
• Special assistance for passengers with disabilities or reduced mobility, which can be arranged through the airline and the airport's general enquiries line.
• Lost property office, located next to the arrivals building.

The official car parks are covered by CCTV and security patrols and hold Park Mark accreditation.

Airlines and destinations

Exeter's route network combines domestic and Irish links, hub connections and holiday flights. The airport's 2026 schedule shows the following airlines:

• Aer Lingus: Dublin all year and Belfast City, with Dublin also offering onward connections to the USA.
• Aurigny: Guernsey.
• KLM: Amsterdam all year, with connections to KLM's worldwide network.
• Loganair: Edinburgh, Jersey and Newcastle.
• Ryanair: Spain and Portugal, including Alicante, Faro, Majorca and Málaga.
• Skybus: the Isles of Scilly.
• TUI: holiday flights to Greece, Spain, the Canary Islands, Cyprus and Turkey, plus long-haul trips to the Caribbean.

Tour operators also run seasonal flights, including Crystal ski charters to Chambéry and Transun trips to Lapland.

History

Exeter Airport began commercial operations on 31 May 1937, when Jersey Airways started a summer service from Jersey, and it was formally opened in July 1938 by the Air Minister, Sir Kingsley Wood. During the Second World War it became RAF Exeter, an important fighter station during the Battle of Britain. Later in the war it was used by United States troop carrier units, whose aircraft dropped paratroops in Normandy during the D-Day operations. The airfield was transferred to the Ministry of Civil Aviation on 1 January 1947.

The runway was strengthened and extended in 1981, and a new arrivals building opened in 1999. In January 2007 Devon County Council sold a majority share in the airport to Regional & City Airports, and in June 2013 the airport was bought by Rigby Group. For many years Exeter was closely linked with Flybe, which was headquartered in the city, until the airline went into administration in March 2020. In 2025 ICG acquired Regional & City Airports, including Exeter.