Aberdeen Airport

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Aberdeen Airport Aberdeen/Dyce Airport
Image:BAAaberdeenlogo.gif
IATA: ABZ - ICAO: EGPD
Summary <tr><th colspan="2" align="left" valign="top">Airport type</th><td colspan="2" valign="top">Public</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" align="left" valign="top">Operator</th><td colspan="2" valign="top">BAA plc</td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" align="left" valign="top">Serves</th><td colspan="2" valign="top">Aberdeen</td></tr>
Elevation AMSL		215 ft (66 m)
Coordinates		57°12′07″N, 002°11′52″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
16/34	6,001	1,829	Asphalt
H05/H23	1,893	577	Asphalt
H14/H32	2,165	660	Asphalt
H36	853	260	Asphalt

Aberdeen Airport or Aberdeen/Dyce Airport (IATA: ABZ, ICAO: EGPD) is the third largest airport in Scotland, and one of the UK's top 10 by number of flights [1]. The airport is located in Dyce, approximately 5 nautical miles (9 km) northwest of Aberdeen city centre.

Aberdeen Airport is owned by BAA plc, the company that also owns London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport, London Stansted Airport, Edinburgh Airport, Glasgow International Airport and Southampton Airport.

1 History
2 At Present
3 Accidents
4 Ground Transportation
5 Future plans
6 External links
7 References

[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 became part of the British Airports Authority (BAA). 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. Helicopter movements account for almost half of the traffic at Aberdeen Airport.

[edit] At Present

Until March 2005, aircraft were not allowed to take-off or land between 22:30 and 06:00 due to noise constraints. The city council overturned this ban, however, despite some Dyce residents' strong objections, and the airport is now open 24 hours a day. Aberdeen Airport also functions as the main heliport servicing 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).

Over 2.7 million passengers used Aberdeen Airport in 2004, which was an increase of 5.7% on figures for the previous year.

The airport has one main passenger terminal, serving scheduled and chartered holiday flights. In addition, there are 2 terminals dedicated to North Sea helicopter operations, used by Bristow Helicopters, CHC-Scotia, and Bond Offshore Helicopters. There is also a small terminal used primarily for oil company charter flights.

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Air France
- operated by Régional (Paris-Charles de Gaulle)
Atlantic Airways (Vágar)
bmi (Amsterdam, Esbjerg, Groningen, London-Heathrow, Manchester, Norwich)
- bmibaby (Birmingham)
British Airways (London-Gatwick, London-Heathrow)
- operated by BA Connect (Birmingham, Manchester)
- operated by Loganair (Glasgow, Kirkwall, Sumburgh)
City Star Airlines (Kristiansund, Oslo, Stavanger)
Eastern Airways (Bristol, Durham Tees Valley, Humberside, Leeds/Bradford, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham/East Midlands, Southampton, Stornoway, Wick)
easyJet (London-Luton)
Flybe (Belfast-City, Birmingham [Starts March 8, 2007], Exeter, Leeds/Bradford)
Flyglobespan (Alicante [Starts Summer 07], Barcelona [Starts Summer 07], Faro [Starts Summer 2007], Murcia [Starts Summer 2007], Palma [Starts Summer 2007], Paphos [Starts Summmer 2007], Tenerife)
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
- operated by KLM Cityhopper (Amsterdam)
Monarch Airlines (Málaga)
Ryanair (Dublin, Liverpool)
Scandinavian Airlines System (Copenhagen)
- operated by SAS Braathens (Oslo, Stavanger)
Widerøe (Bergen, Stavanger)

[edit] Former Scheduled Services

KLM Cityhopper operated a daily flight to Stavanger using a Fokker 70
Air Wales operated twice daily flights to Cardiff via Liverpool using a ATR42 before the airline ceased all operation
Manx Airlines operated services to Isle of Man with Bae ATP and Jetstream 31 aircraft's
Scot Airways operated twice daily flights to London City Airport with a Do328

Other airlines that used to visit Aberdeen Airport frequently but have stopped operating to Aberdeen include:

Coast Air
Danish Air Transport
DHL Airlines used to operate frequently with a Boeing 727 on cargo flights

[edit] New Charter Flights for 2007

Direct holidays have announced three new routes from Aberdeen for summer 2007. These are:-

Ibiza operated by Bmi British Midland by an Airbus A319/A320
Mahon (Menorca) operated by Bmi British Midland by an Airbus A319/A320
Reus (Costa Dorada) operated by Bmi British Midland by an Airbus A319/A320

[edit] Summer/Winter Charter Flights

In addition to the scheduled services listed above, a number of holiday companies operate exclusive charter flights from Aberdeen to a number of destinations in Europe. Destinations for Summer 2006 include:-

Alicante operated by Bmi British Midland with an Airbus A319/A320
Bourgas operated by Balkan Holidays Airlines with an Airbus A320
Jersey operated by BA Connect with an Embraer 145
Las Palmas operated by Air Europa with a Boeing 737-800
Málaga operated by Bmi British Midland with an Airbus A319/A320
Palma operated by Air Europa with an Airbus A321 and Bmi British Midland with an Airbus A319/320
Tenerife South operated by Spanair with an A321 and Air Europa with a Boeing 737-800

Aberdeen Airport currently has only one charter flight operating over the winter period for 2006/2007.

Tenerife South operated by Spanair with an A321

[edit] Special Charter Flights

Aberdeen Airport also has special charter flights organised by the Evening Express and Press and Journal Reader Travel either for a day or for a week. Destinations have included: Alghero,Malta, Naples, Palermo, Verona, Rovaniemi for a day trip, Vienna for a day trip. These destinations have been operated by a host of different airlines including Astraeus, Air Malta, Bmi British Midland, First Choice Airways, My Travel, Travel Service and Thomsonfly

[edit] Previous Charter Flights

Over the last few years Aberdeen Airport has lost several charter services. To name a few:

Air Transat operated a weekly service to Toronto operated by a Boeing 757 and later by an Airbus A310
Air Malta operated several flights a week to Malta operated by a 737-400
Air Scotland operated flights to Barcelona and Palma operated by a Boeing 757 and a Boeing 767
Eurocypria operated a weekly service to Larnaca (Cyprus) operated by an A320 and later by a Boeing 737-800
Thomsonfly formerly Britannia Airlines operated a weekly service to Ibiza operated by a Boeing 737-800

[edit] 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 runway at Aberdeen Airport by several hundred yards as it came in to land. None of the 16 passengers and 3 crew members on board were injured.

[edit] Ground Transportation

The airport lies on the main A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road, and is well served by local and express bus services operated by First Aberdeen and Stagecoach Bluebird.

The airport is also in close proximity to the Dyce railway station. The station is situated on the East Coast line to Inverness and is a single stop from the central Aberdeen rail station.

[edit] Future plans

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

A timetable for other upgrades has also been released, broken into months.

2006

January - A service to Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides is planned for launch.

February - New departure lounge opens.

March - bmi flights to Amsterdam and Flybe's Norwich service launched.

April - British Airways planning to double capacity of its business lounge.

June - new retail and catering facilities open.

October - Bmibaby flight to Birmingham, Flybe flights to Leeds Bradford and Exeter and flyglobespan to Tenerife to be launched

2007

March - Flybe flight to Birimingham planned to launch, though as Flybe are taking over BA Connect's Aberdeen-Birmingham service, the launch of a similar service is unlikely

Managing Director Mr Flower has also stated his hopes for a direct service to London Stansted Airport to begin in 2006, along with the above listed projects. [2]

Flyglobespan has also indicated it is planning to serve more European destinations from Aberdeen Airport in the near future, and is planning to acquire Boeing 737-700s for this purpose.

Eastern Airways has announced that it intends to operate four new flights from Aberdeen in the coming months