Humberside Airport

Humberside Airport
IATA: HUY – ICAO: EGNJ
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Eastern Airways
Operator	Humberside International Airport Ltd.
Serves	East Riding of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Kingston upon Hull
Location	Kirmington, Lincolnshire
Elevation AMSL	121 ft / 37 m
Coordinates	53°34′28″N 000°21′03″W / 53.57444°N 0.35083°W / 53.57444; -0.35083Coordinates: 53°34′28″N 000°21′03″W / 53.57444°N 0.35083°W / 53.57444; -0.35083
Website	humbersideairport.com
Map
EGNJ Location in Lincolnshire
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 02/20 2,196 7,205 Asphalt & Concrete 08/26 860 2,822 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 239,173 Passenger change 13-14 +1% Aircraft Movements 27,647 Movements change 13-14 +1%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Humberside Airport (IATA: HUY, ICAO: EGNJ) is an international airport situated at Kirmington in the Borough of North Lincolnshire, England, 10 NM (19 km; 12 mi) west of Grimsby and around 15 mi (24 km) from both Kingston upon Hull and Scunthorpe, on the A18. Humberside Airport was owned by Manchester Airports Group (the largest UK-owned airport group) from 1999 until 1 August 2012, when it was sold to the Eastern Group of companies. North Lincolnshire Council retains a minority of shares in the Airport.^[3]

According to Airports Council International, Humberside Airport was voted in 2010 the best European airport serving fewer than two million passengers annually.^[4]

History

The airport was previously a Royal Air Force base, RAF Kirmington, opened in 1941 during World War II, from which No. 166 Squadron RAF operated the Avro Lancaster. The site was abandoned after the war in 1945, and lay unused until 1974 when the local council re-opened the site as Kirmington Airport.^[5] When the local area was renamed Humberside following local government re-organisation in England, the name was changed to Humberside Airport. The main runway, designated 03/21 (since redesignated 02/20) was extended to its current length in 1992, allowing operation of much larger aircraft.

In 2008, MAG announced that it was conducting a review of its strategy for Humberside Airport, and all options including disposal were under consideration. Initially it announced plans to sell Humberside Airport after nine years of ownership.^[6] In December 2008, MAG announced it intended to retain Humberside Airport, due to a number of investments, such as the new £1.6 million perishables hub, coupled with a surge in passenger numbers and little interest from potential bidders.^[7]

MAG sold its 83.7% share of Humberside in 2012 for £2.3 million to Eastern Group to focus on the larger airports in its portfolio.^[8] It was later revealed that MAG had bought the airport for almost £8 million more in 1999.^[3]

Operations

The airport faces competition for flights from East Midlands Airport (70 mi (110 km)), Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield (28 mi (45 km)) which opened in 2005 and Leeds Bradford International Airport (74 mi (119 km)); all of these airports offer a substantially wider range of scheduled flights than Humberside Airport, although Robin Hood Airport has also seen large reductions in holiday flights during the last 12 months. Passenger numbers at the airport peaked in the early to mid-2000s when the facility was used by around 500,000 passengers per year, however this had fallen to around 275,000 passengers in 2011.^[2] Cargo throughput at Humberside, however, reached record levels in 2011 at over 1,100 tonnes, around 10 times the level seen in 2005.^[2]

In October 2013 SAS Group began daily operations to Copenhagen, only to withdraw the service in April 2014 because of disappointing passenger numbers.^[9]

The airport is also used to service the offshore gas storage and drilling operations for BP^[10] and Centrica Storage^[11] with over 8,000 air transport helicopter movements in 2011, the fourth highest in the UK.^[2] On 3 January 2013 it was reported that Bond Offshore Helicopters had been awarded a contract with Perenco and would start operating flights to Perenco's platforms in the Southern North Sea. This now means that the airport has three of the biggest UK Helicopter operators based at the airport.^[12] From 1 April 2015 Bristow Helicopters will also operate a UK Search and Rescue base at Humberside.

Humberside has one of the highest NEQ approval levels of any airport in Europe,^[13] and has seen significant growth in cargo throughput from 144 tonnes in 2007 to 1,132 tonnes in 2011.^[2] This was due to regular flights by Icelandair Cargo, which ceased to operate in 2012.

Humberside International has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P739) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction. Humberside airport has a very high amount of general aviation activity, with 5 resident flying clubs and organisations offering fixed wing and rotary training. Weston Aviation opened in May 2011 a fixed based operation (FBO) at Humberside International airport. This will be the first dedicated FBO at the airport and the company has also opened a regional charter sales office at the airport to promote and develop the use of business and private aviation in the local Humberside region.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Passengers and movements

Humberside Airport Passenger Totals 2000-2014 (thousands)

Updated: 13 December 2015.[2]

The memorial to 166 squadron at the door of the modern airport terminal

Routes

10 busiest routes to and from Humberside Airport (2014)

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% Change 2013 / 14
1	Netherlands - Amsterdam	118,143	3.9
2	United Kingdom - Oil rigs	52,294	3.4
3	United Kingdom - Aberdeen	36,595	7
4	Turkey - Dalaman	5,482	8.6
5	Bulgaria - Burgas	4,785	19.4
6	Tunisia - Enfidha	4,677	5.5
7	Jersey - Jersey	2,250	17.2
8	Spain - Alicante	1,714	43.3
9	Denmark - Copenhagen	1,535	56.9
10	Spain - Palma de Mallorca	828	89.1
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority

Ground transport

Bus service

Barnetby Station with Alight here for Humberside Airport signage

An hourly daytime bus service operated by Stagecoach runs from Grimsby and Hull to the airport from Monday to Saturday, which is named as the "Humber Flyer" service.^[18] A local service, serving the villages surrounding the airport is run by Hornsby Travel from Monday to Friday.^[19]

Rail

The airport lies close to the South Humberside Main Line, which runs between Doncaster and the coast at Grimsby and Cleethorpes, running a few hundred metres to the north of the terminal. There is no stop on the line at this point and passengers must alight at the small, rural and unmanned Barnetby railway station some 2.5 miles (4 km) to the west of the airport, or proceed to Grimsby or Hull and use the bus service.

Other facilities

The airline Eastern Airways has its head office in the Schiphol House on the airport property.^[20] Links Air was based at the airport, but moved to Doncaster Sheffield Airport in 2014. BAE Systems are now using the hangar until their new training facility opens in Autumn 2015.

In 2010 a temporary hotel was erected for the use by the gas and oil rig workers. However, this operation is not designed or licensed to operate as accommodation for normal passengers.^[21][22] This is a temporary structure run by Nightel, a locally based niche business, there will be a permanent structure built in the next five years once demand for the facility has been confirmed.^[23]

Accidents and incidents

• 9 October 2013 - The passenger of Cessna 172 G-BCYR made a successful emergency landing at Humberside following the death of its pilot in flight. The passenger had no flying experience and was talked down by flying instructors. He had been on a local flight from Sandtoft Airfield, Lincolnshire when the pilot died.^[24] The incident formed the basis of a documentary broadcast in the United Kingdom by Channel 4 on 27 March 2014.^[25]

References

External links

Media related to Humberside Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website