Aberdeen Airport
|
|
Aberdeen Airport is the fourth largest international airport in Scotland, and number 9 in the UK. Its IATA Airport Code is ABZ , while its ICAO airport code is EGPD. The airport is located in Dyce, approximately 7 miles (11 km) north 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.
| Contents |
History
The airport opened in 1934, 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 reconnaisance 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 carring around 468,000 passengers annually. Helicopter movements account for almost half of the traffic at Aberdeen Airport.
Today
Until March 2005, aircraft were not allowed to take-off or land between 22:00 and 06:00 due to noise constraints. The city council overturned this ban, however, despite 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 British International Helicopters and Bristows. There is also a small terminal used primarily for oil company charter flights.
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
Airlines and destinations
- Air France (Paris Charles de Gaulle)
- Air Wales (Cardiff, Liverpool, Plymouth)
- Atlantic Airways (Vágar)
- Flybe (Belfast City)
- Eastern Airways (Belfast International, Bristol, Durham Tees Valley, Humberside, Inverness, Leeds/Bradford, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham East Midlands, Southampton, Wick)
- bmi (Esbjerg, Groningen, London Heathrow, Manchester, Norwich)
- British Airways (London Gatwick, London Heathrow)
- British Airways (Citiexpress) (Birmingham, Manchester)
- British Airways (Loganair) (Glasgow, Kirkwall, Sumburgh)
- City Star Airlines (Oslo)
- easyJet (Luton)
- KLM Cityhopper (Amsterdam)
- Ryanair (Dublin)
- Scandinavian Airlines System (Copenhagen, Stavanger)
- Widerĝe (Bergen, Stavanger)
Holiday airlines
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. The popular resorts of the Mediterranean, Canary Islands, Cyprus, and the Greek Islands are served by airlines including My Travel, Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomsonfly.
External links
Aberdeen Airport official site (http://www.baa.com/main/airports/aberdeen/)