AIRCRAFT enthusiasts got a rare treat when a Boeing Dreamliner paid a short visit to Bournemouth Airport today.

Many gathered with cameras at the perimeter fence and along Merritown Lane, while visitors to the nearby Bournemouth Aviation Museum had a good look from elevated platforms.

The 787 Dreamliner, operated by Thompson, was on a training flight from Shannon and it was the first time the aircraft has been in Bournemouth.

It was a brief stay from roughly 11.45am to 12.25pm, and there are no plans for the 300-seater aircraft to operate from the airport.

Among the aircraft enthusiasts waiting for the Dreamliner to take off were Graham and Barbara Hustings of King's Park.

“Our son is a real enthusiast and phoned us up this morning and told us a Dreamliner was coming into Bournemouth,” said Mrs Hustings.

“It is nice to see something good at the airport, even if it is only temporary.

“It is a brand new plane so we decided to come down, it's in the blood for our family,” added Mr Hustings, whose dad was an aircraft engineer, and whose other son is an RAF pilot.

“It is great to see it at Bournemouth because the airport really is under-used.”

Aviation Museum chairman David Marsh said the visit had created quite a buzz on internet forums used by local enthusiasts.

He said they had tracked the Dreamliner over from Ireland on their radar system.

“It is great for our visitors to be able to see the planes coming in. Some taxi right alongside the road. One pilot stopped and got his passengers to wave at us out the windows,” he added.

The long-heralded ‘eco-friendly’ aircraft, which has been plagued by battery problems and engine fires, has another local connection in DP Seals from Hamworthy, which supplies specialist rubber mouldings.

The visit was intended to familiarise the aircrew with the runway there in case a flight is diverted.

  • THE ‘super efficient’ Dreamliner is Boeing’s latest range of planes.

The plane was grounded globally when the batteries on two planes overheated, one catching fire while parked.

The first company flying the planes from Britain was Thomson, which was due to begin in May and June this year, but the grounding means it has now been rescheduled for July 8, heading to Mexico and Florida.

One was forced to return to Japan, shortly after takeoff as there was a problem with the anti-icing system.