AC-U-KWIK Airport Profile: Haverfordwest (EGFE/HAW)
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On April 1st of this year, Haverfordwest Airport (EGFE), located toward the end of the peninsula that forms southwest Wales and the County of Pembrokeshire, came under new management after the County Council put out a tender for the running of the site.
The new airport manager, Charlotte Rees, is the daughter of a local dairy farmer but she ended up being more interested in flying than milking cows. Charlotte, who is now in her late 20s, went on to become a co-pilot for Fly Wales, the family's charter company started (by her grandfather, grandmother and uncle) in the early 1970s – to which had been added a small flying school.
Charlotte is now airport ground operations manager and a director of Haverfordwest Airport Limited, a company created in 2024 to operate the airport. The accountable manager is John (Gwyndaf) Williams, a pilot who Rees said used to work for her grandfather almost 40 years ago and who has been with the company ever since.
"I'm the black sheep of the [immediate] family, having gone into aviation," Charlotte said. She had taken a year out from a pharmacy degree course at the University of Bath in 2016 after her uncle, who ran the flying side of the family business at the time, sadly died from a heart attack. "My Dad wanted me to help in the flying school office in the holidays," she recalls, "and I never went back to university."
Learning to Fly
When an instructor at the flying school (Haverfordwest Flight Centre) offered her a trial lesson, Charlotte "caught the flying bug" and ultimately became a commercial pilot during the COVID pandemic (training at Southwest Aviation in Exeter).
The local Council had apparently been losing more than $250,000 a year running the airport, but Rees said the accounts revealed significant inefficiency due to the procurement rules the Council had to adhere to, as a public body. For example, anything over $600 had to go through the Council's Procurement Department, and this made even simple airfield and building maintenance tasks prohibitively expensive, given the requirements for contractors. Therefore, since April 1st, there have been numerous changes to avoid expensive contractor bills, said Charlotte.
In addition, the airport was previously only open 0900 to 1630L Monday to Friday, whereas now it is open 7 days a week from 0830 to 1700L, she said.
Back on the farm, named Poyston Farm and located not far from the threshold of Runway 27 (which has a displaced threshold), Rees said 1,000 cows are milked a day. Her father, mother and brother still run the farm.
When the Council approached the Rees family (as Fly Wales) around two years ago to see if they would be interested in bidding to operate the airport, it had not been something they'd expected. However, they were immediately concerned that any new operator would make things difficult for their two businesses (in aviation and farming).
Promoting Haverfordwest Airport
Charlotte Rees has wasted no time in better marketing the airport and believes "even many locals didn't realize Pembrokeshire had an airport!" At present, there are around 30 aircraft based at the airport, but Rees expects this, and the number of businesses on the aerodrome, to grow as awareness grows.
Traditionally, the Pembrokeshire County Show has been held at the airport, meaning that the airport was normally closed for a couple of days in August, but Rees said this year the show is being arranged such that "people can still fly in" and the airport will remain open. The show this year will take place on Wednesday, August 20 and Thursday, August 21.
For those pilots not interested in busy county shows, the weekend of August 9-10 has been set aside for a fly-in and BBQ (see their website at www.hawairport.co.uk/event-details/open-weekend-and-fly-in-1).
Airport Built in WWII
The history of the airport, which in the Welsh language is called Maes Awyr Hwlffordd, dates back to November 1942 when it was built for RAF Coastal Command, which used it for training before the aerodrome closed in November 1945. Then, in 1949, the Council identified the need for a local airport and in 1952 acquired the site, then known as 'Withybush Aerodrome,' from the Air Ministry.
The airport was licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in 1974 and saw various scheduled and non-scheduled operations over the years. A new tower was built in 2004 on the west side, where new hangars had been built, while the old RAF tower on the east side was used as offices and is still there to this day.
Fly Wales gained its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the UK CAA in 2006 and initially had a Chieftain and a Navajo before switching to King Airs – it bought its second King Air 200 in 2017. In 2022, the company (official name Haverfordwest Air Charter Service Limited) acquired a Cessna CitationJet, originally placing it on the AOC of Synergy Aviation at Fairoaks Airport (UK home base of AC-U-KWIK!), while basing the jet at Farnborough. The jet is now on their own AOC, said Charlotte.
Pembrokeshire is an excellent area for flight training with no controlled airspace (unless you venture to Cardiff or beyond). Pleasure flights are popular at weekends, and visitors and locals want to see the beautiful west Wales coastline from the air. Haverfordwest Flight Centre operates two Cessna 150s, a Cessna 172, and two Cessna 172 XPs.
Charlotte Rees was recognized in 2023 by the Air Charter Association (ACA), winning the NextGen Young Person of the Year Award.
Note: The writer has a particular interest in Haverfordwest Airport as his father, Graham Sheppard, grew up in the flat that used to form the first floor of the old control tower. There, he got into aeromodeling and ultimately became an airline pilot for British Airways, flying Boeing 747s among other types. Graham's father Jack (Ian's grandfather) was a Pembrokeshire County Councillor and chaired the committee that set up the Pembrokeshire Coast Path National Trail, now part of the Wales Coast Path.
Key Facts:
Main Runway 03-21 Asphalt, displaced thresholds. New lights & APAPIs. GNSS Approaches Planned. 5,000 ft x 148 ft.
Runway 09-27 Asphalt, displaced thresholds. 3,593 ft x 148 ft.
Old Runway 17-35 Closed/Disused (central part resurfaced for taxiing).
Airport of Entry
Open 7 days-a-week, 0830-1700L but available H24 (PPR)
Fire/Rescue CAT 1; up to CAT 3 (PNR)
Avgas and Jet A available.
Air/Ground Radio: 123.605
Food: Propellers Café, open 7 days a week.
For further information, see the Haverfordwest Airport entry at Airportdata.com or Acukwik.com.