BOURNEMOUTH Airport has asked passengers whether they would be prepared to pay £20 for access to a new “premium lounge”.

The airport was bought from Manchester Airport Group by RCA last December, for an undisclosed sum.

It used Twitter to harvest opinion on the idea of a lounge with extra facilities for those willing to pay for access.

“We'd like to know whether you would use a new Premium Lounge at Bournemouth Airport, with entry priced at just £20 for fabulous airfield views, complimentary refreshments and unlimited WiFi, among other great benefits,” it tweeted.

The airport ran a poll on Twitter, with 66 per cent choosing the option “Sounds good, I’d book” and 34 per cent selecting “Not interested”.

Reaction was mixed on the social media site.

Twitter user Will Powlesland said: “Overpriced. How about you attract some more airlines so more flights out of BOH (Bournemouth) first?”

Will Orton said: “Great idea, but more suitable for business flights which BOH lacks. I don't think a family flying to Malaga are going to require a business lounge.”

Some referred to the controversial £3 “drop-off” charge, which allows people 30 minutes of parking to drop or collect someone from the airport.

Sheila Wickenden tweeted: “The drop off charge seems to upset a lot of people. How about spending the money there instead?”

Andrew James Rowe tweeted: “Would rather have pedestrian access to the airport without walking in the road. Health and safety?”

Ian Vincent said: “We would much prefer to have it as a public lounge so we could all visit.”

Some pointed out that the airport used to have a public cafe with views of the runway.

Twitter user Nick said: “£20 is a bit steep but something like this is definitely needed. The airfield cafe was/is a huge miss for a place to hang out and watch what’s going on.”

Ian said: “Let’s have a proper restaurant, non airside, as before.”

When RCA, which is part of the Rigby Group, bought the airport last year, it said the deal showed the group’s "ongoing intent to be a significant player in the UK's vital regional airports market."

It already owned Exeter, Coventry and Norwich airports, and has contracts to run Solent, City of Derry and Blackpool.

It said it was creating "an entity capable of offering passengers throughout the South a highly credible alternative to the major London airports."

The airport declined to comment further about the tweet.