Farnborough Airport introduced Simon Geere as CEO. Simon joined Farnborough Airport at a challenging time for the aviation industry, having officially started his role on July 1. With the UK restarting travel this month, Simon is looking forward to an exciting new chapter with Europe’s top private jet airport as it leads the aviation sector’s recovery.
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 recognize 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,” said Simon. “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.”
Simon 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, Simon is also currently a board member of Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton Airports, in addition to Farnborough Airport.
Originally setting out to be an architect, Simon 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, Simon 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.
