in the West Country. Exeter was a joint RAF/Civil airfield in the 1960s. On 5 January 2007, a majority share of the airport was sold by Devon County Council to Regional and City Airports Ltd, a consortium led by construction firm Balfour Beatty. On 26 June 2013, the airport was bought by the Patriot Aerospace division of Rigby Group, which also owns Coventry Airport. In August 2016, Exeter Airport recorded their highest passenger throughput in a single month since September 2008, with 100,374 passengers passing through its terminal. New services to Glasgow and the first route to be supported by the new Government Regional Air Connectivity fund to Norwich, contributed to a 19% increase in passenger numbers during the month of August. During 2018, the runway was resurfaced and energy-efficient LED lighting installed. In 2019, the airport was ranked fourth in the UK by Which? magazine of 30 airports for customer satisfaction, with a score of 73%. Accidents On 19 January 2021, a West Atlantic Boeing 737-400 freighter having just performed flight NPT05L from East Midlands Airport made a very hard landing at Exeter Airport, causing multiple creases in the fuselage. The aircraft was written off. Airlines and destinations The following airlines operate regular scheduled, seasonal, and seasonal charter flights to and from Exeter: Other users Corporate aviation services including a private lounge are provided by XLR Executive Jet Centre There is one flight training organisation based at the airport: Aviation South West, which offers a range of training from the Private Pilot Licence to the Commercial Pilots Licence and Instrument Rating. Dublin Aerospace operates the Exeter Aerospace hangar which provides base maintenance services on multiple aircraft, such as: ATR 42 family; Bombardier DHC - 8 Family; & Embraer EJR 170 & 190 Series aircraft. Iscavia Ltd is based in Hangar 49, on the North-Side of Exeter Airport and provides aircraft maintenance, avionics, airworthiness certification, hangarage, aircraft parts, help and advice. Devon Air Ambulance and National Police Air Service (NPAS) share a purpose built facility on the northern side of the airfield, having vacated the police headquarters at Middlemoor, Exeter in 2014. Statistics The 25 busiest routes by air passenger numbers are listed below. many of these routes, which were operated by Flybe, are no longer in operation. See also List of Royal Air Force stations List of former Royal Air Force stations South West Aviation References Freeman, Roger A.