Belfast International Airport

Belfast International Airport Belfast/Aldergrove Airport
IATA: BFS – ICAO: EGAA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	ADC & HAS.[1]
Operator	Belfast International Airport Ltd.
Serves	Belfast, United Kingdom
Location	Aldergrove, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Elevation AMSL	268 ft / 82 m
Coordinates	54°39′27″N 006°12′57″W / 54.65750°N 6.21583°W / 54.65750; -6.21583Coordinates: 54°39′27″N 006°12′57″W / 54.65750°N 6.21583°W / 54.65750; -6.21583
Website	www.belfastairport.com
Map
EGAA Location in Northern Ireland
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 07/25 2,780 9,121 Asphalt 17/35 1,891 6,204 Asphalt
Statistics (2015 - provisional)
Passengers 4,390,407 Passenger change 14-15 8.8% Aircraft Movements (2014) 50,973 Movements change 13-14 5.6%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[2] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[3]

Belfast International Airport (IATA: BFS, ICAO: EGAA) is a major airport located 11.5 NM (21.3 km; 13.2 mi)^[2] northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It was formerly known and is still referred to as Aldergrove Airport, after the nearby village of Aldergrove, which lies immediately to the west of the airport. The airfield was previously shared with the Royal Air Force base RAF Aldergrove, which closed in 2008; the base is now known as Joint Helicopter Command Flying Station, Aldergrove, and both runways are now owned by the airport.

Around 4 million passengers travelled through the airport in 2014, roughly the same as in 2013.^[4] Belfast International is the busiest airport in Northern Ireland and the second busiest airport on the island of Ireland in terms of passenger numbers after Dublin Airport, and is followed by Belfast-City, Cork and Shannon.

The airport is owned by ADC & HAS,^[5] the same company which owns Stockholm Skavsta, Orlando Sanford International Airport, Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport, Mariscal Sucre International Airport & Juan Santamaría International Airport.

Belfast International has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P798) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

History

1917-1945

The airport lies within the parish of Killead, between the small villages of Killead (to the east) and Aldergrove (to the west). The site for the airport was established in 1917 when it was selected to be a Royal Flying Corps training establishment during the First World War. The airport remained open at the end of the war for RAF activity.

Civil traffic began in 1922 when flights were conducted flying newspapers from Chester, and a regular civil air service started in 1933. The flight was to Glasgow and was operated by Midland and Scottish Air Ferries. This was subsequently augmented by flights to the Isle of Man, Liverpool and Croydon, then London’s airport.

During the Second World War, Aldergrove remained an RAF station particularly for the Coastal Command. So that the airport could accommodate larger, long-range aircraft, a major works programme was undertaken to replace the four existing runways with two new long paved runways, thereby forming the basis of the layout that still exists at the airport today.

1946-1970

One of the outcomes of the wartime airfield construction programme was the building of Nutts Corner Airport, just 3 mi (4.8 km) from Aldergrove. On 1 December 1946, the new site replaced Belfast Harbour Airport (now George Best Belfast City Airport) as Northern Ireland’s civil airport, as the site at Sydenham was considered unsuitable.

By the 1950s civil air traffic had outstripped the facilities at Nutts Corner and, in addition, aircraft were being regularly diverted to Aldergrove because of adverse weather conditions. In July 1959 the decision was made to move civil flights to Aldergrove to take advantage of the large airfield and this took place in October 1963.

A new terminal and apron were built with the necessary passenger facilities and the complex was opened by Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother on 28 October 1963. In 1966 the first regular jet service to London-Gatwick started and in 1968 Aer Lingus and BOAC introduced scheduled services to New York City via Shannon and Glasgow-Prestwick respectively.

1971-1999

Curbside of the terminal building.

In 1971 Northern Ireland Airports Limited was formed to operate and develop the airport and its facilities. A major programme of airfield upgrades was undertaken resulting in improvements to runways, taxiways and the parking apron.

A new International Pier was built together with lounge facilities and car parks, while an additional apron was provided to separate the smaller general aviation aircraft from large commercial jets. In the meantime, British Airways launched the first Belfast to Heathrow shuttle service, and the first Boeing 747 operated from the airport on a charter service to Toronto via Shannon. The first scheduled service to a European city was started by NLM Cityhopper (now KLM Cityhopper) flying to Amsterdam.

In 1983 the airport, renamed Belfast International, was regularly accommodating the largest civil aircraft in service, and with the installation of new technology was capable of all weather operations. In 1985 passenger numbers reached 1.5 million and BMI went into competition with British Airways on the Heathrow service. Further developments to the terminal occurred throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. A new Executive Aviation Terminal was opened in 1987 and the new cargo centre opened in 1991.

The airport was privatised in 1994. TBI became the new owners of the airport on 13 August 1996, by which time annual passenger numbers had reached 2.5 million.

In 1998 Easyjet started operations from the airport with flights to London Luton. Since then the airline has established a large base at Belfast International and a further eleven domestic routes and fifteen direct European scheduled routes have been added to the network, making the airline the largest user of the airport.^[6]

Development since the 2000s

In 2005 Continental Airlines launched the first ever direct scheduled service to Newark, which continues to operate under the United Airlines brand.

In July 2013, it was confirmed that abertis would sell Belfast International Airport, Stockholm Skavsta Airport & Orlando Sanford International Airport to ACD and HAS based in the United States.

In February 2015 the airport re-opened the viewing gallery that had been closed for 10 years, it provides a view of the apron and the runways that serve the airport.^[7]

In January 2016 Ryanair announced that it would launch a new x4 daily service to London Gatwick in direct competition with EasyJet which has operated the route for over 10 years. They also will establish 6 further routes in October 2016 in an investment worth $300 million dollars and will create 750 jobs.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Belfast International Airport has a wide range of cargo operators at the airport, they are currently:^[16]

Traffic and statistics

Traffic figures

In 2007, the airport hit a record of 5.3 million passengers which is the highest in the airport's history. The figure remained static in 2008 but the figure declined sharply in 2009 to 4.5 million and again in 2010 to 4 million.^[4] Figures for 2011 indicated a small rise to 4.1 million, while a larger increase then occurred to 4.5 million in 2012, returning the total to 2009 levels. 2013 figures indicated a decrease to 4 million, which is roughly a return to the 2010 figures, and the total remained static in 2014. The airport is the busiest in Northern Ireland and the second busiest airport on the island of Ireland, after Dublin Airport. Belfast International was the 12th busiest airport in the UK by passenger traffic in 2014.^[4]

Number of Passengers[18] Number of Movements[19] Freight (tonnes)[4] 1997 2,476,834 35,070 24,838 1998 2,671,848 38,976 25,275 1999 3,035,907 44,817 25,773 2000 3,147,670 41,256 30,599 2001 3,618,671 45,706 32,130 2002 3,576,785 38,453 29,474 2003 3,976,703 39,894 29,620 2004 4,407,413 43,373 32,148 2005 4,824,271 47,695 37,878 2006 5,038,692 48,412 38,417 2007 5,272,664 51,085 38,429 2008 5,262,354 55,000 36,115 2009 4,546,475 44,796 29,804 2010 4,016,170 40,324 29,716 2011 4,103,620 57,460 31,062 2012 4,313,685 58,011 29,095 2013 4,023,336 54,003 29,288 2014 4,033,954 50,973 30,073 2015 (provisional) 4,390,407 TBA TBA

Updated: 4 February 2016

Busiest routes

A United Airlines Boeing 757 at Belfast International.

An Aer Lingus Airbus A320 at Belfast International.

An easyJet Airbus A319 at Belfast International.

Busiest international routes to and from Belfast International Airport (2014)^[4]

Rank	Airport	Passengers 2014	Passengers 2013	% Change 2013 / 14
1	Palma, Spain	140,373	138,361	01
2	Malaga, Spain	116,572	101,672	015
3	Faro, Portugal	115,963	99,862	016
4	Alicante, Spain	113,556	107,550	06
5	Amsterdam, Netherlands	97,381	104,575	07
6	Newark, USA	82,958	85,146	03
7	Paris Charles de Gaulle, France	79,820	79,907	00
8	Tenerife, Canary Islands	78,903	71,631	010
9	Lanzarote, Canary Islands	57,167	45,014	027
10	Kraków, Poland	44,742	46,406	04
11	Barcelona, Spain	42,725	48,341	012
12	Dalaman, Turkey	39,386	30,314	030
13	Reus, Spain	37,026	27,098	037
14	Ibiza, Balearic Islands	30,405	21,992	038
15	Malta, Malta	27,624	28,708	04
16	Geneva, Switzerland	25,891	30,940	016
17	Nice, France	19,503	19,986	02
18	Mahon, Balearic Islands	19,158	17,444	010
19	Murcia, Spain	17,320	22,373	023
20	Heraklion, Crete	13,027	8,176	059

Busiest domestic routes to and from Belfast International Airport (2014)^[4]

Rank	Airport	Passengers 2014	Passengers 2013	% Change 2013 / 14
1	London Gatwick	434,305	385,696	013
2	Liverpool	418,389	413,924	01
3	London Stansted	306,883	297,076	03
4	Glasgow International	241,789	250,844	04
5	London Luton	240,885	235,528	02
6	Edinburgh	235,552	244,726	04
7	Bristol	230,833	226,217	02
8	Manchester	204,987	189,969	08
9	Newcastle	196,738	192,513	02
10	Birmingham	179,503	158,591	013

Transport links

Road

Travellers by car from Belfast reach the airport via the M2 motorway. The airport operates four car parks, three on-site car parks and one off-site car park. The on-site short stay and main car parks are situated within easy walking distance of the terminal building, and an on demand courtesy bus operates to and from the on-site long stay car park. The off-site short or long stay car park called 'Park and Fly' is located just before the main entrance to the airport and is also serviced by a courtesy bus.^[20]

Bus

Translink operates a 24-hour number 300 express bus service to the airport from their Europa Buscentre, in the centre of Belfast. The airport can be reached from Derry and the northwest by the Airporter.

Train

The nearest railway station is the Antrim railway station which is 10 km (6.2 mi) from the airport in Antrim, and is serviced by a bus link called the Antrim Airlink (109 A). There are connections to Belfast, Lisburn and Derry. Trains to and from Dublin are via Belfast Central railway station, which has its own Airbus stop. A new station serving the airport could one day be constructed on the mothballed Lisburn-Antrim railway line as set out in the airport master plan. This line remains in serviceable condition and passes close to the airport terminal. It has also been listed in a public review of the future of Northern Ireland railways which would see the airport being served by train by the year 2020.

Accidents and incidents

• On 24 March 1996, Vickers Viscount G-OPFE of British World Airways was damaged beyond economic repair when it made a wheels-up landing.^[21]
• On 23 December 1997, a Maersk Air Boeing 737 aircraft operated by British Airways and with 63 passengers and 6 crew on board was forced to return to the airport after a major failure in the starboard engine. The pilot declared an emergency and the aircraft returned to the airport safely on one engine. It was later found that an engine seal had failed, causing catastrophic engine failure and slight damage to the engine cowling and under-wing surface. The subsequent investigation uncovered design and manufacturing defects with the seals and led to the incorporation of new design seals in all future engines.^[22]
• On 31 October 2010, a bomb was found inside a Toyota Carina parked in the long-stay car park and Army bomb disposal experts dismantled it. It is believed that the car and bomb had been in the car park since 2009. It was only discovered when workers were getting ready to tow the vehicle out of the car park. Many passengers had to spend the night in hotels or arrange alternative transport as they were unable to get to their cars.^[23][24]

References

External links

Media related to Belfast International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website

Airports in Ireland Northern Ireland Belfast City Belfast International City of Derry Smaller Enniskillen/St Angelo Newtownards Ballykelly Republic of Ireland Cork Donegal Dublin Kerry Knock Shannon Waterford Smaller Abbeyshrule Ballyboughal Bantry Birr Casement/Baldonnell Connemara Galway Inishmore Kilkenny Newcastle Sligo Trim Weston Smaller airports handling domestic, charter or private services only.