THE boss of Bournemouth Airport says it is in it for the long haul despite the “massive challenges” of rebuilding its market.

Rob Goldsmith gave a frank lecture to the Christchurch branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

“It’s been the only period since the war we have seen more than two years of consecutive decline,” said Mr Goldsmith on Thursday evening.

Bournemouth has been hit by the recession and the weak pound and several operators have pulled out or cut back.

Mr Goldsmith said a key plan is increasing business flights from five per cent and filling the “hole” in destinations in northern Europe.

“Our current network is dominated by routes to the Mediterranean,” said Mr Goldsmith. “We want a carrier who can offer a range of domestic destinations.

“Not just one or two when it suits them if they have nothing better to do with their aircraft.”

Top of the list are Edinburgh and Glasgow, followed by Manchester, then Leeds, Belfast and Newcastle.

He cautioned that “ruthless” negotiators like Ryanair drive a hard bargain when it comes to flying from an airport.

Budget airlines have been expanding into new markets like Spain and France and scaling back their operations in the saturated UK market, he said.

Mr Goldsmith also pointed to the new £45 million departures lounge built by the owner, the Manchester Airports Group.

“This is a 25-year investment decision,” said Mr Goldsmith, who was speaking at Bournemouth University.

“We are not a venture capital company.

“We are trying to develop for the right reasons. We didn’t make the easy decision to defer the investment.”

Bournemouth Airport saw rapid growth from one operator in 2001 to 22 in 2007, until the recent decline.

This year, Palmair and Ryanair have pulled their winter services and Flybe and BMI Baby have stopped their single destination operations.

“There are massive challenges ahead in terms of rebuilding our market,” said Mr Goldsmith.

“We have to accept that and be innovative in how we develop new income streams.”

Bournemouth has 800,000 passengers a year, but it could handle three million, 1.5 million more than Southampton currently attracts.

The airport and business park already generate £94m a year in wages for 3,400 employees.

Mr Goldsmith said Bournemouth needs more long-haul flights to take advantage of new long-distance planes like Boeing’s Dreamliner.

And he wants more flights to “hub” destinations like Amsterdam so that people can catch connecting flights.