Isle of Man Airport
Encyclopedia
Isle of Man Airport , also known as Ronaldsway Airport and, in Manx
Manx
Manx is an adjective describing things or people related to the Isle of Man:* Manx people**Manx surnames* Isle of ManIt may also refer to:-Languages:...

, Purt Aer Vannin, is the main civilian 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...

 on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

. It is located in the south of the island at Ronaldsway
Ronaldsway
Ronaldsway is a place in Malew in the south of the Isle of Man, between the village of Ballasalla and the town of Castletown. It is notable as the location of Isle of Man Airport and historically RNAS Ronaldsway, together with the adjoining customs free zone and industrial estate.Ronaldsway is the...

 near Castletown, 6 NM southwest of Douglas
Douglas, Isle of Man
right|thumb|250px|Douglas Promenade, which runs nearly the entire length of beachfront in Douglasright|thumb|250px|Sea terminal in DouglasDouglas is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Man, with a population of 26,218 people . It is located at the mouth of the River Douglas, and a sweeping...

, the island's capital. Along with the Isle of Man Sea Terminal
Isle of Man Sea Terminal
The Isle of Man Sea Terminal is the arrival and departure point for all passenger and car ferries operating to and from the Isle of Man and is located in Douglas, the island's capital. It is one of the two main gateways to the Isle of Man, the other one being the Isle of Man Airport...

, it is one of the two main gateways to the island. The airport has scheduled services to 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...

, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

 and the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...

.

History

Ronaldsway was first used as an airfield in 1928 with passenger services to the UK starting in 1933, operated by Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...

 and West Coast Air Services (later West Coast Air Services). Further services were established by Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus
Aer Lingus Group Plc is the flag carrier of Ireland. It operates a fleet of Airbus aircraft serving Europe and North America. It is Ireland's oldest extant airline, and its second largest after low-cost rival Ryanair...

 and Railway Air Services
Railway Air Services
Railway Air Services was a British airline formed in March 1934 by four railway companies and Imperial Airways. The airline was a domestic airline operating routes within the United Kingdom linking up with Imperial's services....

 (RAS) from 1934. From 1937 RAS operations from Ronaldsway to the mainland UK were transferred to Isle of Man Air Services
Isle of Man Air Services
Isle of Man Air Services Ltd was a small airline, based at Ronaldsway Airport Isle of Man, which operated scheduled flights to the English mainland between September 1937 and January 1947.-Formation:...

. In a 1936 expansion of the Ronaldsway Airport, workers discovered a mass grave believed to hold the remains of soldiers who died during the Battle of Ronaldsway
Battle of Ronaldsway
The Battle of Ronaldsway took place in 1275 at Ronaldsway in the southern part of the Isle of Man between a Scottish army and the Manx. The battle crushed the final attempt by the Manx to re-establish the Norse Sudreyar dynasty...

 in 1275.

RAF Ronaldsway

The airfield came under Royal Air Force
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...

 control at the outbreak of the Second World War
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...

. Known as RAF Ronaldsway, it was one of the few airfields that continued operating civilian flights throughout the wartime period.

The airfield was used by № 1 GDGS (Ground Defence and Gunnery School) operating Westland Wallace
Westland Wallace
The Westland Wallace was a British two-seat, general-purpose biplane of the Royal Air Force, developed by Westland as a follow-on to their successful Wapiti. As the last of the inter-war general purpose biplanes, it was used by a number of frontline and Auxiliary Air Force Squadrons...

 aircraft, the drogue
Drogue
A drogue is a device external to the boat, attached to the stern used to slow a boat down in a storm and to keep the hull perpendicular to the waves. The boat will not speed excessively down the slope of a wave and crash into the next one nor will it broach. By slowing the vessel in heavy...

s from these aircraft being fired on from gun emplacements on St Michael's Isle (Fort Island) and Santon Head
Santon (parish)
Santon is a parish of the Isle of Man. It has an area of approximately eight square miles and is the island's smallest parish, located in the sheading of Middle which is composed of the parishes of Braddan, Marown and Santon. Currently the Captain of the Parish is Donald Gelling.The parish church...

.

RAF operations continued until 1943 when the airfield was handed over to the Admiralty
Admiralty
The Admiralty was formerly the authority in the Kingdom of England, and later in the United Kingdom, responsible for the command of the Royal Navy...

 for further development as a Fleet Air Arm
Fleet Air Arm
The Fleet Air Arm is the branch of the British Royal Navy responsible for the operation of naval aircraft. The Fleet Air Arm currently operates the AgustaWestland Merlin, Westland Sea King and Westland Lynx helicopters...

 training station.

HMS

Now a naval air station, RNAS Ronaldsway, the airport was taken out of commission in 1943 for almost twelve months of extensive development. By the summer of 1944 the airfield had evolved from a grass landing area with a few hangars to a four runway airfield with the infrastructure to house and operate three training squadrons using Barracuda
Fairey Barracuda
The Fairey Barracuda was a British carrier-borne torpedo- and dive bomber used during the Second World War, the first of its type used by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm to be fabricated entirely from metal. It was introduced as a replacement for the Fairey Swordfish and Fairey Albacore biplanes...

 torpedo
Torpedo
The modern torpedo is a self-propelled missile weapon with an explosive warhead, launched above or below the water surface, propelled underwater towards a target, and designed to detonate either on contact with it or in proximity to it.The term torpedo was originally employed for...

 bombers.

Commissioned as HMS Urley (Manx
Manx language
Manx , also known as Manx Gaelic, and as the Manks language, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, historically spoken by the Manx people. Only a small minority of the Island's population is fluent in the language, but a larger minority has some knowledge of it...

 for Eagle) by the Admiralty on 21 June 1944, with accounts handled by , flying recommenced on 15 July 1944.
The airfield's main role was that of a torpedo working-up station. No. 1 OTU consisted of 710, 713 and 747 Squadrons (Fleet Air Arm) and these operated until the cessation of hostilities in 1945. The base was paid off on 14 January 1946, and transferred to 'Care and Maintenance' under . The nominal depot ship
Depot ship
A depot ship is a ship which acts as a mobile or fixed base for other ships and submarines or supports a naval base. Depot ships may be specifically designed for their purpose or be converted from another purpose...

 from 21 June 1944 was a 32' cutter named XXII, which itself was constructed in 1937.

Post-war

The airport reverted to solely civilian flying almost immediately after the war, but the airfield remained in Admiralty possession until sold to the Isle of Man Government
Isle of Man Government
The Isle of Man Government is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, representing HM Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Mann...

 for £200,000 in 1948, far short of the £1 million that the UK Government had spent on constructing the airport buildings and runways, plus the £105,000 that was paid by the Admiralty in 1943 to purchase the site.

Several Manx-based airlines were formed in the early postwar years to operate scheduled and charter services to the UK mainland. These included Mannin Airways Ltd and North-West Airlines (Isle of Man) Ltd. Both had ceased operations by mid 1951. When Manx Airlines
Manx Airlines
Manx Airlines was an Isle of Man based airline which existed between 1982 and 2002. Its head office was located on the grounds of Isle of Man Airport in Ballasalla, Malew. An airline of the same name had existed between 1947 and 1958.-History:...

 existed, its head office was on the airport property.

Manx2
Manx2
Manx2 Limited is a virtual commuter airline, with its head office in Hangar 9, Isle of Man Airport in Ballasalla, Malew, Isle of Man. It sells flights and services from several airports in the UK with bases in Belfast City, Blackpool, Cardiff and Isle of Man...

  has its head office in Hangar 9 at the airport.

The Manx Military and Aviation Museum
Manx Military and Aviation Museum
The Manx Military and Aviation Museum is a small but very successful museum on the Isle of Man. Close to Castletown in the south of the island, it lies next to Isle of Man Airport....

 is situated next to the airport and has exhibits and information about the history of aviation on the island.

Extension

A project by Ellis Brown Architects began in November 1998 to extend the airport and improve the facilities available to passengers. In March 2000 the new extension was opened, providing a new landside catering outlet, arrivals area, baggage hall and departure lounge. The existing part of the airport was refurbished during this time to provide improved check-in
Check-in
Check-in is the process of announcing your arrival at a hotel, airport, sea port or social network service.-Airlines and airports :Check-in desks are found in the majority of commercial airports. Their main function is to take in luggage that passengers wish to, or are required to, place within the...

 facilities and offices, linked to the extension with a new airport entrance. During the extension and renovation period the iconic Three Legs of Man sculpture adorning the airport's façade was also refurbished.

In March 2006 funding for a further extension was granted by Tynwald
Tynwald
The Tynwald , or more formally, the High Court of Tynwald is the legislature of the Isle of Man. It is claimed to be the oldest continuous parliamentary body in the world, consisting of the directly elected House of Keys and the indirectly chosen Legislative Council.The Houses sit jointly, for...

 to increase the number of departure gates
Gate (airport)
A gate in aviation is a long, movable, "bridge" that allows passengers to embark and disembark their aircraft.* Jetway bridges* Air stairs, either built into the aircraft or from a mobile vehicle* Mobile lounges...

, with work due for completion in summer 2007.

In April 2008 Tynwald granted a major runway extension and resurfacing project at the airport. The runway will be extended by 245 m (803.8 ft) out into the Irish Sea
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...

 by the construction of a rock-armoured promontory
Promontory
Promontory may refer to:*Promontory, a prominent mass of land which overlooks lower lying land or a body of water*Promontory, Utah, the location where the United States first Transcontinental Railroad was completed...

. It is part of a £44m plan which will also include resurfacing of the runway during summer 2008 and the extension programme that will commence in spring 2008 and is due to be completed by December 2009. It has emerged that the actual runway take-off length was underestimated by 160 metres in the £1.5 million feasibility study. Whilst the study originally looked into the aviation marketing implication of runway length Airport management have now denied that the extension is for the use of heavier aircraft
Aircraft
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

 in the future, stating that the resurfacing and extension are to comply with the latest International safety standards. There has been a significant overspend on the project due to poor forex management of the Euro denominated components of the costs. It is thought that the Manx Treasury Minister may have been referring to the expense of the runway and the additional £6,515,000 control tower project when he stated in his 2009 Budget speech that the Isle of Man could no longer afford "Rolls Royce" projects.

Accidents and incidents

  • On 26 January 1935, Hillman's Airways
    Hillman's Airways
    Hillman's Airways was a 1930s British airline that later became part of British Airways.The company was formed in November 1931 as Hillman's Saloon Coaches and Airways Limited by Edward Henry Hillman who was a coach operator in Essex. His previous business had been sold to London Transport...

     de Havilland Dragon Rapide
    De Havilland Dragon Rapide
    The de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide was a British short-haul passenger airliner of the 1930s.-Design and development:Designed by the de Havilland company in late 1933 as a faster and more comfortable successor to the DH.84 Dragon, it was in effect a twin-engined, scaled-down version of the...

     G-ACPO, operating a mail flight from Aldergrove Airport, Belfast
    Belfast
    Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...

     to Stapleford Aerodrome
    Stapleford Aerodrome
    Stapleford Aerodrome is an airfield in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England near to the village of Abridge. It is about south of North Weald Airfield and north of Romford...

    , Abridge
    Abridge
    Abridge is a village in Essex, England. It is on the River Roding, southwest of the county town of Chelmsford. The village is in the district of Epping Forest and in the parliamentary constituency of Brentwood & Ongar...

    , Essex
    Essex
    Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

     via Speke Airport, Liverpool
    Liverpool
    Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

    , Lancashire
    Lancashire
    Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

     crashed at Derbyhaven
    Derbyhaven
    Derbyhaven is a hamlet near Castletown in the southern parish of Malew, Isle of Man. It is located on the isthmus connecting Langness Peninsula to the rest of the island, on the bay of the same name, and also on Castletown Bay on the other side of the isthmus.In the 17th century it was a...

    , Isle of Man
    Isle of Man
    The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...

    , whilst attempting to divert to Ronaldsway during bad weather.
  • On 23 March 1936, United Airways
    United Airways Limited
    -References:*Sherwood, Tim. Coming in to Land: A Short History of Hounslow, Hanworth and Heston Aerodromes 1911-1946. Heritage Publications ISBN 1899144307...

     Spartan Cruiser
    Spartan Cruiser
    |-See also:-External links:******...

     G-ADEL crashed at Ronaldsway. The aircraft was operating a mail flight from Hall Caine Airport
    Hall Caine Airport
    Hall Caine Airport was the first airfield on the Isle of Man and was located near Ramsey. It was named after the author Sir Thomas Henry Hall Caine CH, KBE by his sons Gordon Hall Caine and Derwent Hall Caine, who were the project initiators. From 1935 to 1937 it handled some domestic scheduled...

    , Ramsey
    Ramsey, Isle of Man
    Ramsey is a town in the north of the Isle of Man. It is the second largest town on the island after Douglas. Its population is 7,309 according to the 2006 census . It has one of the biggest harbours on the island, and has a prominent derelict pier, called the Queen's Pier. It was formerly one of...

    . The aircraft was dismantled and departed the island on board of the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company. It was repaired by its manufacturers and returned to service.
  • On 9 May 1938, de Havilland Express
    De Havilland Express
    The de Havilland Express was a four-engined passenger aircraft from the 1930s manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company.-Development:...

     G-AENR of Isle of Man Air Services
    Isle of Man Air Services
    Isle of Man Air Services Ltd was a small airline, based at Ronaldsway Airport Isle of Man, which operated scheduled flights to the English mainland between September 1937 and January 1947.-Formation:...

     crashed on landing at Ronaldsway Airport. The aircraft was operating a mail flight from Speke Airport, Liverpool
    Liverpool
    Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...

    , Lancashire
    Lancashire
    Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

    . Despite substantial damage to the port lower wing and both port engines, the aircraft was repaired and returned to service.
  • On 14 September 1938, de Havilland Express G-ADVK of Isle of Man Air Services lost the starboard inner propellor in flight whilst operating a flight from Speke to Ronaldsway. The propellor embedded itself in the fuselage of the aircraft. A successful landing was made at Ronaldsway.

Airlines and destinations

The Irish operator Aer Arann entered a code-sharing agreement with Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways is the flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates. Established in July 2003 and based at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Etihad commenced operations in November 2003....

 in 2009, for fights to Abu Dhabi via Dublin. Flybe also has code-sharing agreements with Air France
Air France
Air France , stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the French flag carrier headquartered in Tremblay-en-France, , and is one of the world's largest airlines. It is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance...

 and British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...

. As well Flybe offer fights from the Isle of Man to other destinations via there hubs, like Southampton and Manchester.

Cargo

Statistics

In 2010, 675,871 passengers travelled through the airport, a 4.6% reduction on the 2009 total of 708,127. Air freight at the airport peaked in the late 1990s at over 4,000 tonne
Tonne
The tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...

s per annum, however the collapse of Emerald Airways significantly reduced cargo throughput and in 2010 only 404 tonnes passed through the airport.
10 Busiest Routes to and from Isle Of Man Airport (2009)
Rank Airport Passengers handled % Change
2008 / 09
1   Manchester 142,142 10.8
2   London Gatwick
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...

126,462 14.2
3   Liverpool 117,492 12.2
4   London City
London City Airport
London City Airport is a single-runway airport. It principally serves the financial district of London and is located on a former Docklands site, east of the City of London, opposite the London Regatta Centre, in the London Borough of Newham in east London. It was developed by the engineering...

60,521 107.6
5   Birmingham 46,932 5.1
6   Dublin
Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport, , is operated by the Dublin Airport Authority. Located in Collinstown, in the Fingal part of County Dublin, 18.4 million passengers passed through the airport in 2010, making it the busiest airport in the Republic of Ireland, followed by Cork and Shannon...

34,594 6.3
7   Blackpool
Blackpool Airport
Blackpool International Airport is an international airport on the Fylde coast of Lancashire, England, in the Borough of Fylde, just outside the Borough of Blackpool. It was formerly known as Squires Gate Airport....

29,673 31.5
8   London Luton
London Luton Airport
London Luton Airport is an international airport located east of the town centre in the Borough of Luton in Bedfordshire, England and is north of Central London. The airport is from Junction 10a of the M1 motorway...

27,322 28.2
9   Belfast City 17,662 35.4
10   Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire Airport
Gloucestershire Airport , formerly Staverton Airport, is located at Staverton, in the Borough of Tewkesbury within Gloucestershire, England. It lies west of Cheltenham, near the city of Gloucester and close to the M5 motorway. According to the sign at the airport's entrance it is Gloucestershire's...

16,872 2.5
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority
United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority
The Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden...

http://www.caa.co.uk/default.aspx?categoryid=80&pagetype=88&pageid=3&sglid=3

Ground transport

Bus services are provided by Isle of Man Transport
Isle of Man Transport
Isle of Man Transport is an agency of Isle of Man Government that operates public transport on the Isle of Man.They operates following services:* Bus Vannin, Island Wide Bus Service* Isle of Man Railway, Douglas - Ballasalla - Castletown - Port Erin...

 and routes 1 and 2 serve Douglas, Castletown, Port Erin and other destinations from the airport with hourly frequency, half hourly at peak times. The Isle of Man Railway
Isle of Man Railway
The Isle of Man Railway is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin in the Isle of Man. The line is built to gauge and is long...

 also stops at the nearby Ronaldsway request stop
Ronaldsway railway station
Ronaldsway Halt is a request stop on the Isle of Man Railway between Castletown and Ballasalla at Ronaldsway, near the Isle of Man Airport. Passengers wishing to board the train here can signal the driver to stop the train; to alight from the train the guard must be notified in advance.-Location...

, making possible a unique opportunity in the British Isles to travel to an airport behind a steam locomotive
Steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

.

Security

Security is provided by Aviation Security Officers of the Isle of Man Airport Police
Isle of Man Airport Police
Isle of Man Airport Police is a small police force responsible for policing the Isle of Man Airport in Ronaldsway, Isle of Man. Three officers are on duty during opening hours, and cover is provided 24/7, 365 days a year. Officers are known as "Aviation Security Officers", and have the same...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK