Dundee Airport
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| Dundee Airport Port-adhair Dùn Dèagh |
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|---|---|---|---|
| IATA: DND – ICAO: EGPN | |||
| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | Highlands and Islands Airports Limited | ||
| Serves | Dundee | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 17 ft / 5 m | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Website | |||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| m | ft | ||
| 10/28 | 1,400 | 4,593 | Asphalt |
| Source: UK AIP at NATS | |||
Dundee Airport (IATA: DND, ICAO: EGPN) is located 3 km from the centre of Dundee, Scotland or, for navigation purposes, 0.5 nautical mile (0.9 km) south[1] of the city. It lies on the shore of the Firth of Tay and overlooks the Tay Rail Bridge.
Dundee Airport is a hub of ScotAirways.
Contents |
[edit] History
The airport was opened in 1963 on land reclaimed from the Firth of Tay. Originally it had a 900 metres (2,953 feet) grass runway. The first scheduled air service began on July 5, 1966, with a service to Glasgow. A fortnight later a feeder service was added for Turnhouse and Prestwick.[2] The service was stopped on October 31, 1967 after British Eagle reported substantial £10,000 losses. The grass runway was replaced by a 1,100 m (3,609 ft) long tarmac runway in the 1970s and extended to the current length of 1,400 m (4,593 ft) in the 1990s. The airport was granted "customs airport" status on April 16, 1982[3] and runway edge lights were added in 1983.[4] The current terminal was opened in 1997 by the then EU transport commissioner Neil Kinnock.
Ramsay World Travel from Dundee also operate a weekly charter to Jersey in the Summer months in association with Lewis's Holidays, and in 1996 they ran a series of weekly flights to Majorca using BAe 146 aircraft which had to land in Bournmouth to re-fuel.
Business Air and later British Midland Regional operated flights from Dundee to Manchester Airport in the 90's, a route that was brought back by Eastern Airways for a short time.
Tayside Aviation operates a training facility and engineering workshop at the airport. This was supplemented by a maintenance hangar built in 1982. The airport welcomes general aviation traffic.
[edit] Present Day
Dundee airport is currently running at a loss of over £1million each business year, which is expected to rise to almost £2 million by 2007-8.[5] On the 12 February 2007, it was announced that, from September 2007, the City Council will handover the running of the airport to HIAL- Highlands and Islands Airports Limited.[6] In the event the takeover took place on 1 December 2007.
At present the airport is looking to expand with more scheduled flights, although this would be limited to regional aircraft. Larger aircraft used by low-cost airlines, such as Boeing 737s, would have insufficient runway length to operate. The largest aircraft that can land at the airport is the BAe 146. The runway cannot be extended under existing regulations.
Ramsay World Travel in co-operation with Discover Jersey & Airways Holidays operate a weekly charter service from Dundee to Jersey (03/05/08-20/09/08) - flights over the last couple of years have been operated by VLM Airlines with Fokker 50 aircraft.
On May 29, 2007, services to Birmingham International Airport and George Best Belfast City Airport operated by FlyWhoosh, using ATR 42 aircraft started. The airline, a subsidiary of Polish airline White Eagle Aviation (WEA) based an aircraft at Dundee Airport.[7] However, since December 2007 these services ceased, amid some confusion as to what exactly caused the termination of services.
On March 3, 2008, Loganair announced that it would recommence the routes which were operated by FlyWhoosh in May 2008 under the new Flybe franchise banner. Three weekday return flights have since been introduced between Dundee and Birmingham, with one return flight on Sunday and a daily weekday return flight between Dundee and Belfast City Airport commeneced, also with one return flight on Sunday..[8] The company utilises the Saab 340 aircraft on these routes.
[edit] Airlines and destinations
- Air France
- operated by ScotAirways for CityJet (London-City)
- Flybe
- operated by Loganair (Belfast-City, Birmingham)
[edit] Transport
[edit] Road
The airport lies on the main A85 Riverside Drive, which links the city centre to the Kingsway and the A90, with the airport barely a couple of kilometers from the city centre itself. Taxis are available from outside the airport.
[edit] Bus
Dundee Airport is a short taxi ride from the main Dundee bus station. Direct buses to many other major destinations are available from the station. Chartered buses can also be booked with local operators.
[edit] Rail
The airport is also a short taxi ride from the Dundee railway station. The station is situated on the East Coast line to Edinburgh and is also on the cross-country line serving Glasgow and further afield. Dundee Station is served by First ScotRail, National Express East Coast and CrossCountry.
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ UK AIP
- ^ CJP (July 5 1966). "First Dundee air service begins". The Courier.
- ^ "Dundee airport granted customs status" (April 17 1981). The Courier and Advertiser.
- ^ "£91,000 spent on Dundee airport" (June 8 1983). The Courier and Advertiser: 9.
- ^ Council can no longer bear costs of loss-making Dundee airport (HTML) (2005). Retrieved on 5 October 2005.
- ^ Dundee Airport transfer 'not cut and dried' (HTML) (2006). Retrieved on 28 February 2006.
- ^ FlyWhoosh Flights to Belfast City
- ^ news
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