Operators at the Airport
Airbourne Colours
Aviation South West
Exeter Aerospace
In-house Refuelling and De-icing Services
Iscavia - Aircraft Maintenance
Joint Fire Training Facility
NPAS - Devon and Cornwall Police / Devon Air Ambulance
Robin Flying Group
Wildlife Control Unit
XLR Executive Jet Centre
Iscavia - Aircraft Maintenance:
The company had its origins in General Aviation maintenance support at Exeter Airport in the 1970’s. It went through several ownership changes until purchased by the Flybe predecessors, Jersey European Airways (JEA) in 1988. The company became responsible for maintenance of the JEA owned fleet that was no longer operated by JEA but leased to third parties along with a large GA fleet.
It was operated as a division of JEA until 1996 when Iscavia (Isca being the Roman name for Exeter) was created.
From 1996 to 2007 the Company continued as a subsidiary of Flybe. During that time capability and capacity on different aircraft types was increased and it gained its own CAA/ EASA approvals. Iscavia became less dependent on Flybe and concentrated on supporting a growing portfolio of aircraft types.
Iscavia gained agencies with Market leaders such as Garmin and Trig. Iscavia supports aircraft on the United Kingdom, French, Irish and Isle of Man registers and deals with all those authorities.
The current Directors of Iscavia purchased the Company from Flybe In 2007.
Website - Aircraft Maintenance | Iscavia Ltd
National Police Air Service (NPAS)
Joint Air Operations base for National Police Air Service (NPAS) and the Devon Air Ambulance Trust (DAAT)
Currently the Devon and Cornwall Police helicopter and the Devon Air Ambulance share the same facilities at Exeter Airport known as NPAS. The joint base is on the northside of the airport at the North Western end. The Police helicopter is a Eurocopter EC135 which has state-of-the-art equipment onboard. The Devon Air Ambulance uses an Airbus H145, registered G-DAAS. The H145 Helicopter is slighly bigger than the EC135.
XLR Exeter - Executive Jet Centres
XLR - Exeter based at Exeter International Airport , Devon, is situated in the former Exeter Flying Club building. With extensive refurbishment throughout the building XLR now boasts comfortable surroundings with an excellent view across the airfield. Part of the Rigby Group PLC - XLR Executive Jet Centres handle VIP passengers with special lounge access. It also handles Military traffic and any specialist flights including parking assistance via fully trained marshalling staff with plenty of aircraft parking options. To find out more and subscribe to the XLR Newsletter
Former Airport Operators:
Harvest Air:
In 1982, the arrival of Harvest Air was a major part of the airport and its activities. Harvest Air was a Southend based company who joined forces with the Department of Transport to form a Maritime Pollution Unit that based two aircraft on the Northside of the airport.
A Britten Norman Islander G-BJWL and a Douglas DC3 Dakota, either, G-AMYJ or G-AMPZ. Both types wore distinctive markings of a yellow and black chequered tail and were able to carry a dispersant for dealing with oil spill incidents around our shores. The larger Dakota could carry 5 tonnes whilst the more compact Islander carried a 1 tonne load.
They remained on a constant state of readiness with a daytime response time of thirty minutes. Three pilots worked at Exeter namely Alan Jarvis, Eddie Adams and Mike Findlay.
Westcountry Aircraft Servicing Limited –
Exeter Airport
Westcountry Aircraft Servicing Limited was incorporated on 8 May 1964, operating from the large Hinaidi Aeroplane Shed situated at the eastern end of the airfield, close to the former threshold of Runway 13. The hangar included a line of offices along its airside elevation, with additional small offices positioned adjacent to the main structure.
Over the decades, the premises passed through a succession of owners and rebrandings, reflecting the evolving aviation landscape at Exeter Airport:
- Spacegrand Limited — 14 June 1978 to 31 December 1981
- Spacegrand Aviation Services Limited — 31 December 1981 to 6 October 1983
- Spacegrand Limited (reinstated) — 6 October 1983 to 12 July 1985
- Walker Aviation Limited — 12 July 1985 to 1 December 2005
- Including Jersey European Airways Engineering Limited from 2 July 1991
- Deutsche European Limited — from 13 March 2000
- British European Limited — from 13 March 2000
- FlyBe Group Limited — 1 December 2005 to 7 December 2010
- FlyBe Group PLC — 7 December 2010 to 5 April 2019
- Exeter Aerospace, part of the Dublin Aerospace Group — from September 2020 to the present day
This sequence of ownership charts more than half a century of engineering activity at Exeter Airport, centred around one of its most historically significant hangars.
This page was last updated 25 March 2026