Aberdeen Airport

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For other uses, see Aberdeen Airport (disambiguation).
Aberdeen Airport
Aberdeen/Dyce Airport
Port-adhair Obar Dheathain

IATA: ABZ – ICAO: EGPD
Summary
Airport type Public
Owner/Operator BAA
Serves Aberdeen
Location Dyce
Elevation AMSL 215 ft / 66 m
Coordinates 57°12′07″N 002°11′52″W / 57.20194, -2.19778
Website www.aberdeenairport.com
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
16/34 1,829 6,001 Asphalt
Helipads
Number Length Surface
m ft
H05/H23 577 1,893 Asphalt
H14/H32 660 2,165 Asphalt
H36 260 853 Asphalt
Statistics (2007)
Passengers 3,412,257
Source: UK AIP at NATS
Aberdeen heliport
Aberdeen heliport

Aberdeen Airport (IATA: ABZ, ICAO: EGPD) is the third largest airport in Scotland, and one of the UK's top 10 by number of flight movements [1]. The airport is located in Dyce, approximately 5 nautical miles (9 km) northwest of Aberdeen city centre. 3.41 million passengers used Aberdeen Airport in 2007, an increase of 7.8% compared with 2006. [2]

The airport is owned and operated by BAA, which also owns and operates six other UK airports[3], and is itself owned by an international consortium led by the Spanish Ferrovial Group.[4]

Aberdeen Airport is the hub of bmi Regional (a subsidiary of bmi) and Eastern Airways, as well as being a focus city of Flyglobespan. The Airport also serves as the main heliport for the United Kingdom's offshore oil industry. Installations serviced directly from Aberdeen stretch from the Argyll field (approx 56°N) to the Bruce field (60°N).

The airport has one main passenger terminal, serving scheduled and charter holiday flights. In addition, there are 3 terminals dedicated to North Sea helicopter operations, used by Bristow Helicopters, CHC-Scotia, and Bond Offshore Helicopters. There is also a small terminal adjacent to the main passenger terminal, Broomfield House, used primarily for oil company charter flights to Scatsta in Shetland, operated by Flightline (UK).

Contents

[edit] History

The airport opened in 1934, established by Eric Gandar Dower, intended to link the northern islands of Scotland with London. During World War II the airfield became an RAF base, and although fighters were based there through the Battle of Britain to provide protection from German bombing raids from Norway, it was mainly used as a photographic reconnaissance base. The airport was nationalised in 1947 and was transferred to the control of the British Airports Authority (BAA) in 1975.

With the discovery of North Sea oil, helicopter operations began in 1967, linking the growing number of oil rigs to the mainland. As Aberdeen became the largest oil-related centre in Europe, the airport became the world's largest commercial heliport. Today, Aberdeen Airport handles more than 37,000 rotary wing movements carrying around 468,000 passengers annually. Helicopters account for almost half of all aircraft movements at the Airport.

Until March 2005, aircraft were not allowed to take-off or land between 22:30 and 06:00 local time due to noise constraints. The city council overturned this ban, however, despite some Dyce residents' objections, and the airport is now open 24 hours a day.

[edit] Current airlines and destinations

[edit] Scheduled flights

[edit] Charter flights

[edit] Cargo Flights

[edit] Former airlines and destinations

[edit] Former scheduled flights

Scheduled and regular charter routes which have previously been operated from Aberdeen, but have now been cancelled for various reasons (as indicated) include:

[edit] Former charter flights

Charter flights operated during the summer holiday season have included:

[edit] Facilities

The airport terminal provides several shopping and eating facilities, a games area, internet access, car hire, bureau de change, taxi ranks and executive lounges.

There is also a Thistle Hotel and Speedbird Inn on the airport site, with a Travelodge and Marriott Hotel between the airport and the Dyce railway station. Hilton recently announced they will open a 175-room "Garden Inn" concept hotel on the Airport site in Autumn 2009.

[edit] Incidents and accidents

  • At 2100 BST on 22 June 2006, a City Star Airlines Dornier 328 (TF-CSB) operating a passenger flight from Stavanger, Norway, overshot the end of the airport's runway by several hundred yards as it came in to land. None of the 16 passengers and 3 crew members on board were injured.
  • At 0745 BST on 24 December 2002 a Swearingen Metroliner III (OY-BPH) of Danish operator North Flying crashed after take off from Aberdeen on a positioning flight to Aalborg in Denmark. Immediately after take-off the aircraft was suspected to have suffered a major power loss in its right engine and crashed into a field just to the south of the airport. It slid along the field and through a fence onto Dyce Drive, a main road into the airport, where it hit a moving car and then came to rest. The two crew and driver of the car survived the accident, with only one crewmember sustaining minor injuries. [5]
  • At 0714 BST on 13 June 2001 a Gama Aviation Beechcraft 200 Super King Air (G-BPPM) crashed at Aberdeen when its undercarriage collapsed on landing. The aircraft slid down the runway for around 500 metres before coming to rest. The flight had departed Aberdeen for Humberside but returned after a problem was discovered with the undercarriage. The two crew and four passengers were unhurt. [6]

[edit] Transport

[edit] Road

The airport lies on the main A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road, being only a few kilometers from the city centre itself.

[edit] Bus

Aberdeen Airport is well served by local and express bus services operated by First Aberdeen and Stagecoach Bluebird. Chartered buses can also be booked with local operators.

[edit] Rail

While the airport is in close proximity to the Dyce railway station, the station is situated on the opposite side of the runways from the terminal. Access to the East Coast line requires a taxi journey.

The East coast line to Inverness is a single stop from the major UK railway station in the city centre, Aberdeen to the south. Aberdeen station is served by First ScotRail, NXEC and CrossCountry.

[edit] Future plans

Planning permission has been lodged with the relevant authorities to extend Aberdeen Airport's main runway by a maximum of 300 m - bringing the possibility of direct flights to the United States and Caribbean countries dependent on aircraft type and demand for travel. Shorter extensions of 100 m would bring most European destinations within reach.

Airport expansion is strongly opposed by climate change and environmental campaigners. A timetable for other upgrades has also been released.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/80/airport_data/200401/Table_02_2_Summary_Of_Activity_at_UK_Airports.pdf
  2. ^ CAA Airport Statistics 2007
  3. ^ UK airports owned and operated by BAA
  4. ^ BAA: "Who owns us?"
  5. ^ Accident Report, OY-BPH. UK AAIB. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.
  6. ^ Accident Report, G-BPPM. UK AAIB. Retrieved on 2007-12-04.

[edit] External links

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