Belfast International Airport

Belfast International Airport (IATA: BFS, ICAO: EGAA) is an airport 11.5 NM (21.3 km; 13.2 mi) northwest of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Formerly known as Aldergrove Airport, after the nearby village of Aldergrove, Belfast International is Northern Ireland's busiest airport and the second busiest airport on the island of Ireland, second only to Dublin Airport. In 2016, over 5.1 million passengers travelled through the airport, marking a 17% increase compared with 2015.

Belfast International has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction. 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. The airport is owned by ADC & HAS, the same company which owns Stockholm Skavsta, Orlando Sanford International Airport, Daniel Oduber Quirós International Airport, Mariscal Sucre International Airport and Juan Santamaría International Airport.

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

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.

Development since the 2000s

In 2005 Continental Airlines launched the first ever nonstop scheduled service to Newark, which continued to operate under the United Airlines brand until its termination in January 2017.

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 which provides a view of the apron and the runways that serve the airport. It also includes live ATC, arrival and departure boards, and a live flight radar screen.

In January 2016 Ryanair announced that it would launch a new four times 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 and will create 750 jobs. Later on in the year Ryanair announced several more routes, including routes to Berlin and Milan. Ryanair also said they would carry 1.1 million passengers a year out of the airport.

In November 2016, United Airlines announced to terminate its service from Newark to Belfast by January 2017 cancelling the airport's only year-round long-haul route. On 24 February 2017, Norwegian Air Shuttle announced two new long-haul routes from Belfast International Airport. Services will operate five times a week, from July, between Belfast International and Stewart International Airport, about 70 miles from New York, and T. F. Green Airport, 60 miles from Boston.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Belfast International:

Airlines Destinations
BH Air Seasonal charter: Burgas
CityJet Seasonal charter: Barcelona
easyJet Alicante, Amsterdam, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Faro, Glasgow-International, Kraków, Isle of Man (begins 22 June 2018), Liverpool, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, London–Stansted, Málaga, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Seasonal: Barcelona, Bordeaux, Geneva, Dubrovnik, Ibiza, Jersey, Lanzarote, Lyon, Naples (begins 23 June 2018), Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Reykjavík–Keflavík, Split, Valencia (begins 23 June 2018)
Jet2.com Alicante, Fuerteventura, Funchal (begins 30 April 2018), Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Tenerife–South
Seasonal: Almería (begins 5 May 2018), Antalya (begins 3 May 2018), Dalaman (begins 26 June 2018), Dubrovnik, Faro, Girona, Heraklion (begins 7 May 2018), Ibiza, Málaga, Malta (begins 5 April 2018), Mahon, Naples (begins 4 May 2018), Palma de Mallorca, Paphos (begins 2 May 2018), Reus, Rhodes (begins 4 May 2018), Salzburg (begins 23 December 2017), Verona (begins 13 January 2018), Zakynthos
Luxair Seasonal charter: Burgas (begins 12 June 2018)
Meridiana Seasonal charter: Verona
Norwegian Air Shuttle
operated by Norwegian Air International
Newburgh
Seasonal: Providence
Ryanair Alicante, Bergamo, Berlin–Schönefeld, Gdańsk, Kraków, Lanzarote, London–Stansted (begins 1 March 2018), Málaga, Malta, Tenerife–South, Warsaw–Modlin, Wrocław
Seasonal: Faro, Girona
Thomas Cook Airlines Lanzarote, Tenerife–South
Seasonal: Antalya (begins 14 May 2018), Dalaman, Gran Canaria, Larnaca, Palma de Mallorca, Reus, Rovaniemi
TUI Airways Seasonal: Burgas, Corfu, Gran Canaria, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Málaga, Mahon, Palma de Mallorca, Reus, Rhodes, Tenerife–South
Virgin Atlantic Seasonal: Orlando
Wizz Air Vilnius

Cargo

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

Airlines Destinations
ASL Airlines Belgium East Midlands
Atlantic Airlines East Midlands
DHL Aviation
operated by European Air Transport
East Midlands
FedEx Feeder
operated by Swiftair
Birmingham, London–Stansted, Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Royal Mail
operated by Titan Airways
London–Stansted
UPS Airlines
operated by Star Air
East Midlands

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. 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 was roughly a return to the 2010 figures and the total remained static in 2014, but increased to nearly 4.4 million in 2015 and 5.1 million in 2016. 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 10th busiest airport in the UK by passenger traffic in 2016.

Busiest routes

Busiest routes to and from Belfast International (2016)
Rank Airport Total
passengers
Change
2015 / 16
1 London–Gatwick 858,757 82.6%
2 Liverpool 465,543 9.3%
3 London–Stansted 363,943 12.4%
4 London–Luton 310,431 5.1%
5 Glasgow 282,375 6.0%
6 Edinburgh 274,292 4.4%
7 Manchester 253,217 12.8%
8 Newcastle 250,418 14.1%
9 Bristol 249,481 1.2%
10 Birmingham 227,526 16.0%
11 Alicante 153,691 33.8%
12 Palma de Mallorca 147,410 7.3%
13 Málaga 130,342 10.7%
14 Faro 124,455 9.4%
15 Amsterdam 121,976 19.7%
16 Lanzarote 108,757 43.5%
17 Tenerife–South 90,509 20.3%
18 Newark 79,042 14.1%
19 Paris–Charles de Gaulle 76,374 2.0%
20 Kraków 54,580 23.6%

Transport links

Road

Travellers by car can 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.

Bus

Translink operates an express bus service to the airport from their Europa Buscentre, in the centre of Belfast. Translink also offers bus connections to Antrim railway station. The airport can be reached from Derry and the northwest by the Airporter.

Train

The nearest railway station is Antrim railway station, 10 km (6.2 mi) from the airport in Antrim and serviced by a bus (the 109A Ulsterbus service) to and from Antrim bus/railway station from there connections to Derry and Belfast by train can be made. There are connections to Belfast, Lisburn and Derry. Antrim station is on the Belfast–Derry railway line. Trains to and from Dublin are via Belfast Central railway station. A new station serving the airport could 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • On 10 November 2017, Flybe flight BE331, operated by a Bombardier Dash 8 Q400, was scheduled to fly from Belfast City to Inverness. The plane reported a technical problem shortly after takeoff and was diverted to Belfast International, where it landed on its nose with the front gear retracted. One minor injury was reported.

External links

Media related to at Wikimedia Commons

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Tips & Hints
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Jonathon Taylor
7 February 2018
Technically it is open 24 hours a day. But be prepared to spend the night in what feels very much like a haunted museum in a horror movie. Good luck. Oh, and the vending machines don’t work.
Angela Zambito
17 April 2012
Got my ticket and was through security in a breeze! There's a shop once you get past security that was delish! Great small airport.
Cleber Fregatto
20 November 2017
The airport atends the city very well. It's quite far from the city, but options for food and attendance are fair.
Elif
12 January 2019
There are 2 airports in the city so be careful. Very small but security and gates took ages. Almost missed our flight. Be there at least 2 hours before especially on Sunday nights.
Jennifer Fleming
14 August 2015
They finally have free wifi! Yay! They also have the standard Starbucks and WHSmith. Lots of toilets. I like it here!
Assyl Tobakabulov
6 July 2015
Pss. There's a perfect way to go to Dublin without visa while you're here. Just buy return train ticket at the Central Station.
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