- Dundee Airport
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Dundee Airport
Port-adhair Dhùn Dèagh
Main Terminal of the airport. IATA: DND – ICAO: EGPN Summary Airport type Public Owner Highlands and Islands Airports Limited Operator Dundee Airport Ltd. Serves Dundee Location Dundee Elevation AMSL 17 ft / 5 m Coordinates 56°27′09″N 003°01′03″W / 56.4525°N 3.0175°WCoordinates: 56°27′09″N 003°01′03″W / 56.4525°N 3.0175°W Website Map Location in Dundee
EGPNRunways Direction Length Surface m ft 09/27 1,400 4,593 Asphalt Statistics (2008/9) Movements Commercial Flights 3,910 Movements Training Flights 34,908 Passengers 67,269 Sources: UK AIP and NOTAM file at NATS[1][2]
Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[3]and HIAL[4] A flight movement is one take-off or one landing, passengers are the total of inward and outward bound, passengers paying fees to Dundee Airport are approximately half those shown.
Dundee Airport (Scottish Gaelic: Port-adhair Dhùn Dèagh) (IATA: DND, ICAO: EGPN) is located 3 km (1.9 mi) from the centre of Dundee, Scotland or, for navigation purposes, 0.5 NM (0.93 km; 0.58 mi)[1] south of the city. It lies on the shore of the Firth of Tay and overlooks the Tay Rail Bridge.
CityJet and Flybe are the only airlines operating regular scheduled passenger flights at the airport.
Contents
History
The airport was opened in 1963 on land reclaimed from the Firth of Tay. Originally it had a 900 m (2,953 ft) 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.[5] The service was stopped on October 31, 1967 after British Eagle reported substantial £10,000 losses. Around this time the control of Dundee City Council changed from Labour to Conservative and the airport was closed and land used by Dundee University as playing fields. When control of the Council changed back again to Labour the airport was reopened.[6]
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[7] and runway edge lights were added in 1983.[8] 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 Bournemouth/Southend 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 only a few months, in 2002.
After the departure of Business Air, the airport was left without any scheduled services for almost a year until April 1999, when ScotAirways introduced flights to London City Airport. ScotAirways operated under the CityJet for Air France banner from 2007 to September 2009. In September 2009 CityJet became a commercial brand within the AFKL Group. Flights are now announced as CityJet and not Air France. The Dundee to London City route was flown by Dornier 328 aircraft leased from ScotAirways, until January 2011 when ScotAirways' near 12 year association with the route came to an end, as CityJet announced the route would be operated on a reduced frequency by its own Fokker 50 aircraft.[9] This change has caused concern within the business community for the continued viability of the route.[10] Following the purchase of ScotAirways by Loganair in July 2011, the Dornier 328 has since been reinstated on the route.
On May 29, 2007, services to Birmingham International Airport and George Best Belfast City Airport operated by FlyWhoosh, using ATR 42 aircraft started. The company which was effectively only a ticket agent, used the services of a Polish airline White Eagle Aviation (WEA) which based an aircraft at Dundee Airport.[11] In December 2007 these services ceased, amid some confusion as to what exactly caused the termination of services.[12] 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. Three weekday return flights have since been introduced between Dundee and Birmingham, with one return flight on Sundays and a daily weekday return flight between Dundee and Belfast City Airport, with one return flight also operating on Sundays.[13] The company uses Saab 340 aircraft on these routes.
Tayside Aviation operates a training facility and engineering workshop at the airport. This was supplemented by a maintenance hangar built in 1982. Their operations form the substantial part of the light aircraft movements at the airport, being, among other things, sole contractor to the Air Cadet Organisation to provide Light Aircraft Flying Scholarships to RAF cadets.
Present day
Dundee Airport has been operating at a loss of over £2 million per year from 2004 to 2007[14] and in the first full financial year of operation under HIAL, 2008/9, the airport's loss was £2.6 million.[15]
On 12 February 2007 it was announced that, from September 2007, the City Council would handover the running of the airport to Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL).[16] The takeover took place on 1 December 2007.
Any additional scheduled flights at the airport would be limited by runway length to regional aircraft. Larger aircraft used by low-cost airlines, such as Boeing 737s, require longer runways. The largest aircraft that can land at the airport are the BAe 146 and the Airbus A318.[17] The runway cannot be extended under existing regulations.[citation needed]
On 8 August 2008, HIAL and airport bosses announced that they were considering a direct air link to Amsterdam. A survey was conducted to gauge demand but no route announcement has yet been made.
In late October 2008, an article was placed in the Evening Telegraph concerning the possibility of flights to and from Spain. The airport operator had also stated that the A318 is fully compatible for Dundee Airport and could be used to operate these flights.[17]
Airlines and destinations
Airlines Destinations Blue Islands Seasonal charter: Jersey CityJet London-City Flybe operated by Loganair Belfast City, Birmingham Transport
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.
Bus
Dundee Airport is served by National Express Dundee bus direct to the city centre, Broughty Ferry and Ninewells Hospital. 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.
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, East Coast and CrossCountry.
Accidents
- On Friday, 24 October 2003, a US registered six-seater TBM 700 came down 200 meters short of the runway in the Tay Estuary. The hovercraft was deployed and they were rescued from the aircraft in around 15 minutes. The four people on board received only minor injuries.
- On Monday, 6 June 2005, an instructor and trainee escaped uninjured when a Grob 115 crashed through a fence at Dundee Airport after the novice got into difficulties. The plane was extensively damaged in the accident.
External links
References
- ^ a b Dundee - EGPN
- ^ NOTAM L2028/09 for EGPN
- ^ UK Airport Statistics: 2007 - annual
- ^ [1]
- ^ CJP (July 5 1966). "First Dundee air service begins". The Courier.
- ^ [General Aviation October 2005, p3, Aopa Corporate member Profile of Tayside Aviation,]
- ^ "Dundee airport granted customs status". The Courier and Advertiser. April 17 1981.
- ^ "£91,000 spent on Dundee airport". The Courier and Advertiser: 9. June 8 1983.
- ^ City Jet Promo Video
- ^ Dundee Courier
- ^ FlyWhoosh Flights to Belfast City
- ^ FlyWhoosh Collapse
- ^ news
- ^ http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/
- ^ Dundee Airport Limited Director's Report and Financial Statements 2008/2009
- ^ "Dundee Airport transfer 'not cut and dried'". 2006. http://www.uk-airport-news.info/dundee-airport-news-280206.htm. Retrieved 28 February 2006.
- ^ a b http://www.eveningtelegraph.co.uk/output/2008/10/21/story12131462t0.shtm
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