A MEMORIAL paying tribute to the late travel boss Peter Bath was unveiled at Bournemouth Airport on Thursday.

The plaque, which is set in stone from a Purbeck quarry, sits between the new arrival and departure terminal at the airport against the new wall of history telling the story of the airport.

The plaque was officially unveiled by Peter’s wife Liz, as members of the family including sons Andrew and Stephen and daughter Christine watched on proudly along with staff at the airport and former Palmair employees.

Stephen said: “This is a culmination of four years work to get this display wall here.

“This is a very proud moment for all of us as we have been working on this for four years. I’m delighted with how it has turned out.”

Liz Bath added: “My family and I are very delighted and proud to have this magnificent tribute.”

Peter Bath, or “PJ” as he was affectionately known, was head of the Bath Travel group and chairman of Palmair.

Famous for seeing off all his flights from Bournemouth Airport in person, he died in 2006.

His career in the travel industry spanned a remarkable seven decades, beginning just after the war, when he took the helm of Bath Travel, founded by his father in 1924.

Rob Goldsmith, managing director of Bournemouth Airport said: “We are all extremely proud of the heritage we have here and this memorial set against our history wall is another reason to be proud.

“Peter Bath was one of the real founding fathers of his industry. His legacy of customer service is something we can all look up to as a real benchmark.”