Penzance Heliport
| Penzance Heliport | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Sikorsky S-61N Echo Bravo departing Penzance Heliport for the Isles of Scilly during August 2006 | |||||||||||
| IATA: PZE – ICAO: EGHK | |||||||||||
| Summary | |||||||||||
| Airport type | Private | ||||||||||
| Owner/Operator | British International | ||||||||||
| Location | Penzance | ||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 14 ft / 4 m | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 50°07′41″N 005°31′06″W / 50.12806°N 5.51833°WCoordinates: 50°07′41″N 005°31′06″W / 50.12806°N 5.51833°W | ||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||
  EGHK Location in Cornwall | |||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||
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Penzance Heliport (IATA: PZE, ICAO: EGHK) was located 0.6 NM (1.1 km; 0.69 mi) northeast of Penzance, Cornwall.[1] The heliport hosted scheduled flights to the Isles of Scilly, with a connection to the railway network at Penzance railway station by a special bus service. The heliport had a single concrete landing pad, which was 30 m × 30 m (98 ft × 98 ft), inside a 373 m × 45 m (1,224 ft × 148 ft) grass strip, 08/26.
The heliport was officially closed on 31 October 2012.
History
Services started on 1 May 1964 when BEA Helicopters Limited operated the first service between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly with a Sikorsky S-61. The construction of the heliport cost £88,000[2] (equivalent to £1,600,000 in 2015).[3]
The heliport was opened formally on 1 September 1964 by Councillor Alfred Beckerleg, the Mayor of Penzance with the Lady Mayoress.
Due to the high costs of maintaining the service and falling passenger numbers, British International Helicopters ceased the operation of the helicopter route on 31 October 2012.[4] The company announced that it intended to sell the Heliport to a supermarket chain[5] and relocate to another site in West Cornwall to raise funds, although no suitable alternative site was found in time to save the service.
In early April 2013, demolition work on the main terminal buildings began, and by September 2013, nothing remains of the former heliport, with a supermarket chain now dominating the site.
In 2016 plans were announced for a new helicopter service between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly. The proposals included building a new heliport on Jelbert Way, Penzance, near to the location of the old one.[6]
References
- 1 2 Penzance - EGHK
- ↑ The Windsor Star, Saturday 19 December 1964.
- ↑ UK CPI inflation numbers based on data available from Gregory Clark (2016), "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)" MeasuringWorth.
- ↑ British International Final Press Release, 1 August 2012. Archived here. Archived 14 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Isles of Scilly Steamship Company rules out Lands End Airport move
- ↑ Armstrong, Paul (25 August 2016). "Proposals for replacement Penzance Heliport to be revealed". Falmouth Packet. England. Retrieved 2 December 2016.