Aberdeen Airport
Encyclopedia
Aberdeen Airport is an international airport
International airport
An international airport is any airport that can accommodate flights from other countries and are typically equipped with customs and immigration facilities to handle these flights to and from other countries...

, located at Dyce
Dyce
Dyce is a civil parish and suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, about north west of Aberdeen city centre, and best known as the location of the city's airport. It is on the River Don.- History :...

, a suburb
Suburb
The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 of Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, approximately 5 NM northwest of Aberdeen city centre. 2.76 million passengers used Aberdeen Airport in 2010, a reduction of 7.4% compared with 2009, making it the 15th busiest airport in the UK
Busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic
The tables below contain CAA data from 2006 to 2009, on the busiest airports in the United Kingdom by total passenger traffic, including information on international, domestic and transit counterparts...

. The airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...

 was the second busiest airport in Scotland, and sixth busiest in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 by number of flight movements in 2010.

The airport is owned and operated by BAA, which also owns and operates five other UK airports, and is itself owned by ADI Limited, an international consortium, which includes Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec
The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec manages public pension plans in the Canadian province of Quebec. It was founded in 1965 by an act of the National Assembly...

 and GIC Special Investments
Government of Singapore Investment Corporation
The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Private Limited is a sovereign wealth fund established by the Government of Singapore in 1981 to manage Singapore's foreign reserves...

, that is led by the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 Ferrovial Group
Ferrovial
Ferrovial, S.A. is a Spanish multinational company involved in the design, build, financing, operation and maintenance of transport, urban and services infrastructure. It is a publicly-traded company and is part of the IBEX 35 market value-weighted stock market index...

.

Aberdeen Airport is a base for BMI Regional
BMI Regional
British Midland Regional Limited is a British regional airline based in Aberdeen, Scotland. BMI Regional is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Midland International operating scheduled passenger services primarily within the UK...

 (a subsidiary of BMI
Bmi (airline)
British Midland Airways Limited , is an airline based at Donington Hall in Castle Donington in the United Kingdom, close to East Midlands Airport, and a fully owned subsidiary of Lufthansa...

) and Eastern Airways
Eastern Airways
Eastern Airways is an airline with its head office at Humberside Airport in Kirmington, North Lincolnshire, England. It operates scheduled domestic and international services and private charter services...

. The Airport also serves as the main heliport
Heliport
A heliport is a small airport suitable only for use by helicopters. Heliports typically contain one or more helipads and may have limited facilities such as fuel, lighting, a windsock, or even hangars...

 for the Scottish offshore oil industry. With the utilization of newer aircraft, helicopters can reach northern most platforms on both the East and west of Shetland areas. However, Helicopters frequently use Wick, Kirkwall, Scatsa and Sumburgh for refuelling stops.

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
Bristow Helicopters
Bristow Helicopters is a British helicopter airline originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, part of the Bristow Group based in Houston, Texas, USA....

, CHC-Scotia, and Bond Offshore Helicopters
Bond Offshore Helicopters
Bond Offshore Helicopters is a British Helicopter operator, specialising in providing offshore helicopter transportation services between Aberdeen, Scotland and several North Sea Oil platforms...

. 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 Eastern Airways

History

The airport opened in 1934, established by Eric Gandar Dower, intended to link the northern islands of Scotland with London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

.

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 the airfield became an RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...

 base. It was the site of the Dyce Sector Operations Room within No. 13 Group RAF
No. 13 Group RAF
No. 13 Group was a group in the Royal Air Force for various periods in the 20th century. It is most famous for having the responsibility for defending the North of Great Britain during the Battle of Britain-World War I:...

. Although fighters were based there through the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...

 to provide protection from German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 bombing raids from Occupied Norway, it was mainly used as a photographic reconnaissance base.

A significant wartime event occurred in May 1943 when a German, Junkers Ju 88
Junkers Ju 88
The Junkers Ju 88 was a World War II German Luftwaffe twin-engine, multi-role aircraft. Designed by Hugo Junkers' company through the services of two American aviation engineers in the mid-1930s, it suffered from a number of technical problems during the later stages of its development and early...

 fighter-bomber landed here; it was flown to Scotland by its crew, who wanted to defect to the Allied side. The surrender of this aircraft was of great intelligence value at the time, as it was fitted with the latest FuG 202 Liechtenstein BC A.I radar
Lichtenstein radar
Lichtenstein radar was a German airborne radar in use during World War II. It was available in at least four major revisions, the FuG 202 Lichtenstein B/C, FuG 212 Lichtenstein C-1, FuG 220 Lichtenstein SN-2 and FuG 228 Lichtenstein SN-3.- FuG 202 Lichtenstein B/C :Early FuG 202 Lichtenstein B/C...

. The aircraft survives and is displayed in the RAF Museum
RAF Museum
The Royal Air Force Museum London, commonly known as the RAF Museum, is a museum located on the former Hendon Aerodrome, dedicated to the history of aviation and the British Royal Air Force. The museum is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and a registered charity...

 in London.

During Air raids in World war 2, Aircraft were moved to East Fingask beside Oldmeldrum. One RAF building still remains at East Fingask, where aircrews waiting for the all clear before returning to Dyce Airfield. Virtually nothing remains from the World War 2 era at the airport due to expansion and development of the industrial estates around it.

The original Airport terminal was located at the East Side where the Airport Social club and Bond Offshore helicopters are located, a new terminal was built along with a new control tower to handle the increase in air traffic.

The airport was nationalized in 1947 and was transferred to the control of the British Airports Authority (BAA) in 1975. From 1967 and 1970 there were regular flights to Moscow and Toronto; these were later stopped due to cost related problems.
With the discovery of North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...

 oil, helicopter
Helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

 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.

Aberdeen have had a few interesting visitors, During an Airshow in the 1980s, Concorde did a "touch and go". A Boeing 747 owned by Alitalia also did a touch and go during a training flight from Italy, this was piloted by a local pilot from Strathdon. During the peak of the oil boom in the 1980s, British Airways used to use Lockheed Tristar for the Heathrow shuttle. To guide the aircraft in, the marshaller had to stand on the terminal building room so the pilot could see them. When Aberdeen Football Club played Real Madrid for a European cup, a range of aircraft were chartered to ferry the fans to Sweded, these aircraft included a 4 engined Douglas DC-8. Up until the purchase of a Boeing 757, Donald trump's Boing 727 was a regular visitor.

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.

General aviation (light aircraft) flight training for private pilots licenses takes place from the East Side of the airport and based in the ground Handling agents premises. The ground handling agent there also manages the VIP flights and corporate jets that park on the Eastside Apron.

The air ambulance (fixed wing) is based on the eastside apron in a dedicated hanger, the company operates King-Air aircraft from Aberdeen.

Future plans

Aberdeen Airport has now begun work on a £10 million construction project to attract more international routes.

BAA expects to spend £60million on extending the runway farther still to allow bigger, more modern aircraft to fly from Aberdeen to destinations across the Mediterranean, North Africa and North America, as well as building a bigger, better-equipped terminal and new parking stands for aircraft. During the construction phase of the runway extension and taxiiway, the airport's military past has been revealed. To date two pieces of WW2 ordanance has been unearthed. The reason for this is the taxiway extension route straight runs straight through the old bomb dump. The runway extension has now been completed 8 months early, allowing the potential for new services in 2012 using larger aircraft such as the Boeing 767
Boeing 767
The Boeing 767 is a mid-size, wide-body twin-engine jet airliner built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. It was the manufacturer's first wide-body twinjet and its first airliner with a two-crew glass cockpit. The aircraft features two turbofan engines, a supercritical wing, and a conventional tail...

.

BAA predicts passenger numbers at Aberdeen will rise to 5.9 million by 2030, and says the expansion will create more than 1,200 jobs at the airport and many more across Scotland.

Refurbishment work will see the installation of a segregated walkway for passengers, as well significant enhancements to the international arrivals hall and improvements to jet parking stands.

The first phase of the work will be completed early next year, with all upgrades conforming to UK Border Agency
UK Border Agency
The UK Border Agency is the border control body of the United Kingdom government and part of the Home Office. It was formed on 1 April 2008 by a merger of the Border and Immigration Agency , UKvisas and the Detection functions of HM Revenue and Customs...

 requirements.

Phases two and three will then involve additions to the international arrivals hall, centring on improving its passport control and baggage reclaim facilities as well as increasing floor space.

A separate £2 million project to transform the terminal forecourt at Aberdeen Airport got underway in July 2008 and was due to be completed that autumn.

On October 6 2011 Aberdeen Airport announced the 124 metre runway extension had opened 8 months ahead of schedule. http://www.digitalhen.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-15171962

Airlines and destinations

Cargo

Facilities

The airport terminal provides various shopping and eating facilities before and after security, including WHSmith, Boots, Dixons, Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee
Costa Coffee is a British coffeehouse company founded in 1971 by Italian brothers Sergio and Bruno Costa, as a wholesale operation supplying roasted coffee to caterers and specialist Italian coffee shops. Since 1995 it has been a subsidiary of Whitbread, since when the company has grown to over...

 and duty free stores. In addition, the airport's other facilities include a games area, car hire, internet access, bureau de change
Bureau de Change
A bureau de change or currency exchange is a business whose customers exchange one currency for another. Although originally French, the term bureau de change is widely used throughout Europe, and European travellers can usually easily identify these facilities when in other European countries...

, tourist information services and executive lounges.

There is also a Thistle Hotel
Thistle Hotels
Thistle Hotels is a UK-based hotel company with a portfolio of 33 hotels, operating in the three and four star sector. It is the sixth largest hotel chain in the UK by bedroom numbers , but the largest hotel chain in London.-History:...

 and Speedbird Inn on the airport site, with a Travelodge
Travelodge
Travelodge refers to several hotel chains around the world. Current operations include: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand and Australia...

 and Marriott Hotel
Marriott International
Marriott International, Inc. is a worldwide operator and franchisor of a broad portfolio of hotels and related lodging facilities. Founded by J. Willard Marriott, the company is now led by son J.W. Marriott, Jr...

 between the airport and the nearby Dyce railway station.

Incidents and accidents

  • On 3 March 2009, seven protesters from Plane Stupid
    Plane Stupid
    Plane Stupid is a UK-focused group of environmental protesters who state their aim as wanting to see an end to airport expansion for what it sees as "unnecessary and unsustainable" flights. The organisation has no formal hierarchy, leader, or media figurehead. It is a loose association of...

     occupied a taxiway at Aberdeen Airport, barricading themselves within a makeshift wire enclosure while two further protesters occupied the roof of the main terminal building. Their actions were in protest at the proposed extension to the Airport runway, and Donald Trump's plan to create a Golf Resort in the area. After a number of hours, the group eventually ended their protest, and were arrested by Police.
  • On 22 June 2006, a City Star Airlines
    City Star Airlines
    City Star Airlines was a ticket sales office based in Aberdeen, Scotland. It operated under the Air Operator's Certificate of Landsflug in Iceland. Its main service was scheduled services between energy industry centres in Scotland and Norway, as well as charter services...

     Dornier 328
    Dornier 328
    |-See also:- References :* Swanborough, Gordon. "Dornier 328: A Daimler for Commuters". Air International, March 1992, Vol. 42 No. 3. pp. 123–128. ISSN 0306-5634....

     (TF-CSB) operating a passenger flight from Stavanger
    Stavanger
    Stavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...

    , Norway
    Norway
    Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

    , 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.
  • On 24 December 2002 a Swearingen Metroliner III (OY-BPH) of Danish operator North Flying
    North Flying
    North Flying A/S is a Danish airline based at Ålborg and Copenhagen airports. North Flying main business is within charter operations, such as air taxi, air ambulance, and freight, and also training-, photo-, and banner flights...

     crashed after take off from Aberdeen
    Aberdeen
    Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

     on a positioning flight to Aalborg
    Aalborg
    -Transport:On the north side of the Limfjord is Nørresundby, which is connected to Aalborg by a road bridge Limfjordsbroen, an iron railway bridge Jernbanebroen over Limfjorden, as well as a motorway tunnel running under the Limfjord Limfjordstunnelen....

     in Denmark
    Denmark
    Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. 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.
  • On 13 June 2001 a Gama Aviation
    Gama Aviation
    Gama Aviation Limited is an executive airline based at Farnborough Airport in the United Kingdom. It operates business jet aircraft for charter, as well as offering aircraft management services worldwide....

     Beechcraft 200 Super King Air
    Beechcraft Super King Air
    The Beechcraft Super King Air family is part of a line of twin-turboprop aircraft produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation . The King Air line comprises a number of model series that fall into two families: the Model 90 series, Model 100 series , Model 200 series and Model 300 series...

     (G-BPPM) crashed at Aberdeen
    Aberdeen
    Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

     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
    Aberdeen
    Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

     for Humberside
    Humberside
    Humberside was a non-metropolitan and ceremonial county in Northern England from 1 April 1974 until 1 April 1996. It was composed of land from either side of the Humber Estuary, created from portions of the East and West ridings of Yorkshire and parts of Lindsey, Lincolnshire...

     but returned after a problem was discovered with the undercarriage. The two crew and four passengers were unhurt.
  • On 4 July 1983, Bristow Helicopters
    Bristow Helicopters
    Bristow Helicopters is a British helicopter airline originally based at Aberdeen Airport, Scotland, part of the Bristow Group based in Houston, Texas, USA....

     AS332L Super Puma (G-TIGD) crashed on landing at Aberdeen
    Aberdeen
    Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

    . During the approach to Aberdeen
    Aberdeen
    Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

     from the North Hutton platform, a loud bang was heard, followed by severe vibration. A PAN call was made to ATC by the crew. Shortly before landing control was lost and the helicopter
    Helicopter
    A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...

     struck the runway heavily on its side. 10 of 16 passengers received serious injuries. A tail boom panel had become detached in flight and damaged all five tail rotor blades. The resulting imbalance to the tail rotor assembly led to the separation of this unit and subsequent loss of control.
  • In the late 70s, a Trident Aircraft overshot the runway ending up at the Northern end of runway 34 (35 at the time)
  • On 2 September 1947 Vickers Viking
    Vickers Viking
    -References:NotesBibliography* Andrews, C.F. and E.B. Morgan. Vickers Aircraft since 1908. London: Putnam, 1988. ISBN 0-85177-815-1.* London, Peter. British Flying Boats. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0-7509-2695-3....

     C.2 VL245 of the RAF King's Flight crashed in a field at Newhills, 3 km from Aberdeen Airport. The aircraft suffered an engine failure while climbing out. All 11 on-board survived the forced landing.

Rail

The airport is linked to nearby Dyce railway station
Dyce railway station
Dyce railway station is a railway station serving the town of Dyce, Aberdeen, Scotland. The station is managed by First ScotRail and is on the Aberdeen to Inverness Line, with some trains operating on the East Coast Main Line beginning or terminating at the station. This gives it direct services to...

 by the 80 Dyce Airlink
80 Dyce Airlink
80 Dyce Airlink is a shuttle bus service operated by First Aberdeen and Central Coaches. Until 2011, the service was fully operated by First Aberdeen, but Central Coaches took over took over the services Mondays to Fridays. First Aberdeen operates the X80 on Saturdays.-80:The 80 is operated by...

 shuttle bus which runs between the station, airport, heliport and Kirkhill industrial estate every 20 minutes between 06:45 and 19:00. Journey time between the airport and station is 15 minutes.

Following an increase in the frequency of train services to Dyce station, First ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...

 now provides an almost half-hourly service to and from Aberdeen during the day.

Additionally many more trains from the south have now been extended to stop at Dyce, giving the station direct links to Dundee
Dundee railway station
Dundee railway station serves the city of Dundee on the east coast of Scotland. The station has two through platforms and two terminal platforms...

, Edinburgh
Edinburgh Waverley railway station
Edinburgh Waverley railway station is the main railway station in the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Covering an area of over 25 acres in the centre of the city, it is the second-largest main line railway station in the United Kingdom in terms of area, the largest being...

, Glasgow
Glasgow Queen Street railway station
Glasgow Queen Street is a railway station in Glasgow, Scotland, the smaller of the city's two main line railway termini and the third-busiest station in Scotland. It is between George Street to the south and Cathedral Street Bridge to the north, at the northern end of Queen Street adjacent to...

 and intermediate stations, as well as stations northwards on the line to Inverness
Inverness railway station
Inverness railway station is the railway station serving the Scottish city of Inverness.- History :Opened on 5 November 1855 as the western terminus of the Inverness and Nairn Railway, it is now the terminus of the Highland Main Line, the Aberdeen-Inverness Line , the Kyle of Lochalsh Line and the...

.

Bus

Aberdeen Airport is served by local and express bus services operated by First Aberdeen and Stagecoach Bluebird
Stagecoach East Scotland
Stagecoach East Scotland is an operating region of Stagecoach UK Bus, with its regional base in Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland and including the legal companies Bluebird Buses Ltd, Fife Scottish Buses Ltd,Stagecoach Ltd, Strathtay Scottish Omnibuses Ltd, JW Coaches Ltd and Rennie's of Dunfermline Ltd.-...

. Chartered buses can also be booked with local operators.

Road

The airport lies on the main A96
A96 road
The A96 is a major road in the North of Scotland.It runs generally west/north-west from Aberdeen, bypassing Kintore, Inverurie, Huntly and Forres, and running through Keith, Fochabers, Elgin and Nairn...

 Aberdeen to Inverness
Inverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...

road, being only a few kilometers from the city centre itself.

External links

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