“We’re from Bournemouth, sunny sunny Bournemouth” – Cherries🍒fans.
I have backpacked Bournemouth (Dorset, England) almost as many times as I have backpacked Belfast and Bangor! I spent 6 glorious years living in this marvellous seaside town before deciding to emigrate in 2009. I haven’t lived in either England or Northern Ireland since taking that plunge – that flight to Taiwan, a spot of backpacking before winding up in Australia. Life moved on, but heart and sentiment stayed partly in Bournemouth. Quite often, both while living there, and since, I would fly in and out of Bournemouth Airport. What?! Bournemouth has an airport?? Yes of course we do.
Down the years there have been thousands of flights from Bournemouth to New York, Tenerife, Krakow, Belfast and of course Glasgow and Dublin. Back when I lived here, I would be a regular on the Jet2 Bournemouth to Belfast flights. That route has ended now, but such is the industry.
The airport was called Hurn Airport (many still use that moniker), it’s on the edge of Bournemouth but then again, Luton isn’t London and Belfast Aldergrove is nearer Templepatrick than Belfast.
And now for some fun facts about Hurn International Airport, in Bournemouth!
Why Bournemouth (Hurn) Airport Is Important
Hurn Airport — today known as Bournemouth Airport — holds a uniquely important place in aviation history because it was the arrival point of the first land-plane passenger flight from the USA to the UK after World War II in 1945. New York to Bournemouth was the first such flight, due to Heathrow in London being repaired at the time in the aftermath of the German War.
Textbook Bournemouth Story This
In October 1945, a Douglas DC-4 operated by American Overseas Airlines landed at Hurn Airport in Bournemouth, Dorset after flying from New York via Gander (at Canada away) and Shannon (Republic of Ireland away).
This flight is historically significant because it marked the beginning of post-war commercial transatlantic air travel using land-based aircraft, rather than flying boats. While earlier crossings had occurred during the war, they were military or diplomatic in nature. Hurn’s role was therefore central to the return of civilian passenger aviation between Europe and North America.
Bournemouth as ever was a trendsetter, a pace-maker and a trailblazer in the backpacking industry.
Why was Bournemouth chosen in 1945?
Hurn was chosen because of its long runways, modern wartime infrastructure, and relatively uncongested airspace, and of course so we could all fly in and watch the Cherries!
During the immediate post-war period, London airports were still restricted or undergoing redevelopment, making Hurn an ideal temporary gateway between Britain and the United States. For a brief but crucial period, it functioned as one of the UK’s main transatlantic hubs, welcoming American airlines and passengers at a moment when international travel was being rebuilt from scratch. Now you know, eh?
Cherries International Airport’s importance lies not only in that single historic landing, but in what it symbolised: the transition from war to peace, from military necessity to civilian connection. Hurn represents the point at which regular people—business travellers, diplomats, families—once again crossed the Atlantic by air, helping to re-establish cultural, economic, and political ties between the UK and the USA.
In short, Hurn Airport matters because it was where post-war transatlantic aviation truly began. Later on, the airport has been pivotal for training air traffic controllers and pilots, and has been used for decades by NATS (National Air Traffic Control Services).
Why mention Bournemouth Airport now in 2026?
Firstly, I love a good piece of history that I reckon not everyone knows. Next time you are in a pub quiz and asked “where did the first USA to UK flight land post-World War II?”, now you know the answer…Bournemouth.
Secondly, I am an AFC Bournemouth fan and I love to be able to fly into Hurn Airport directly to catch a match! I’ve even done Carlisle Away from Bournemouth to Glasgow, train to Carlisle and back the same way. Thanks, Ryanair.
Thirdly, you can thank Ryanair again as they just opened up more flights from Bournemouth International Airport. Is it a sign that the plucky Cherries are about to get into European football? It would be the least we all deserved on the sunny south coast.
Check out the Ryanair site, Bournemouth Airport site and Bournemouth Airport Facebook to stay up to date.
Current Routes out of Bournemouth
These are all subject to change of course, I am just a backpacking travel blogger, but Bournemouth currently serves these routes.
1.Palma De Mallorca
2.Alicante
3.Malta
4.Edinburgh
5.Krakow
6.Lanzarote
7.Faro
8.Girona
9.Malaga
10.Tenerife
11.Bergerac
12.Carcassone
13.Chania
14.Fuerteventura
15.Murcia
16.Rhodes
17.Trapani
18.Wroclaw
19.Zadar
20.Dublin (discontinued)
I would love to see Belfast, Gdansk and further afield, but for now, this can only be good news for Bournemouthians wanting to travel, and for others (like me) hoping to visit Bournemouth. I miss a good beer in The Navigator Bar heading out over the views of the Dorset coastline…
“We were bust and going down but Fletcher scored v Grimsby Town, where were you while we were getting high?” – Oasis (via Super Fletch).
UTCIAD! BBOTN!
Safe travels and Up the Cherries!
