CITY OF DERRY AIRPORT

'City of Derry Airport' (Irish: 'Aerfort Chathair Dhoire') is an airport in Derry, Northern Ireland. It is located near Lough Foyle and the village of Eglinton, 13 kilometres (8 miles) east northeast of the city centre. Passenger numbers in 2006 were almost 350,000, projected to rise to 500,000 by 2008.
Eglinton Aerodrome has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P620) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Derry City Council)^[1].
The airport has its origins in World War II. In 1941 'RAF Eglinton' air base was established as home to No. 133 Squadron RAF which flew Hurricane fighters in defence of the city. In 1942 the base was occupied by No. 41 Squadron RAF. In 1943 the airfield became a Fleet Air Arm base called HMS Gannet and was home to No. 1847 Fleet Air Arm Squadron which provided convoy air cover as part of the Second Battle of the Atlantic.
After the war the base remained a military establishment until the 1950s when the Ministry of Defence returned much of the land to the original landowners. The original name of the airport was ''Londonderry Eglinton Airport'' and was usually just referred to as ''Eglinton''. Some limited commercial activities were undertaken at the airfield during the 1960s when Emerald Airways operated a Glasgow service. During most of the 1970s the only flying at Eglinton was carried out by Eglinton Flying Club which is still based at the airport. In 1978 Londonderry County Borough Council (now called Derry City Council) decided to purchase the airfield with a view to improving the transport infrastructure for the North-West of Ireland. The airport has slowly developed since then. Loganair introduced the first scheduled flight between Derry and Glasgow in 1979 and it still operates today. This route was the only route for ten years until Loganair introduced an additional daily Manchester service in 1989.
A major redevelopment programme was undertaken by the Council from 1989 to 1993 with grant aid from the European Regional Development Fund. £10.5 million was spent upgrading all of the facilities at the airport including runways, taxiways, access roads, navigation equipment and runway lighting, as well as a new purpose-built terminal and fire station. The new terminal was officially opened in March 1994. The name of the airport was officially changed form Londonderry Eglinton to the 'City of Derry Airport'. At that time there were still only two scheduled routes carrying about 40,000 passenger each year. 1995 saw the arrival of Jersey European Airways who attempted to operate a short-lived shuttle link between City of Derry and Belfast City Airport.
During 1998 and 1999 safety improvements were undertaken at the airport. As the airport serves much of the Republic of Ireland as well as Northern Ireland, funding came from the Irish government, as well as the British government and Derry City Council. These improvements meant that larger aircraft could use the airport and Falcon Holidays started holiday charter flights in May 1999 and Ryanair followed with scheduled flights in July 1999. This Ryanair service to London (Stansted) grew substantially and British Airways also started a number of routes. In June 2004 Aer Arann commenced services to Birmingham and Manchester.
In May 2006, the EU Commission gave its approval for the British and Irish governments to invest €15 million in the airport.

Contents

Incidents and accidents

Airlines and destinations

Passenger Numbers

References

External links

Incidents and accidents

★ 29 March 2006 - the Irish airline Eirjet issued an apology after a flight it operated from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to City of Derry Airport on behalf of Ryanair landed at the wrong airfield, touching down at an army base in Ballykelly 10 kilometres (6 miles) away from its intended destination. The statement explained that the incident was caused by an "error by the Eirjet pilot who mistakenly believed he was on a visual approach to City of Derry airport". ^[2] An air accident investigation report in January 2007 reported that the pilot had been unable to obtain the correct set of charts prior to the flight, only obtaining them the day after the incident. The pilot stated that if he had seen the charts, he would have been fully aware of the existence of Ballykelly and would not have landed there. The crew believed the instrument landing aid system at City of Derry was malfunctioning as what they saw of the runway did not match the instrument readings and the presence of an instrument calibrating aircraft close by added to their belief that there was a technical fault. The report also stated that although an air traffic controller thought the jet was "slightly low" he did not warn the crew about the other runway.

★ 24 May 2007 - The airport was closed by Civil Aviation Authority following an inspection. Problems found include lack of an effective bird control plan, unsuitable temporary repairs to the area where planes park and poor runway drainage.^[3] Four days later, after reinspect ion, the CAA allowed the airport to be reopened. Changes made to the airport included placing nets over culverts and ponds near by, repairs to the aircraft parking apron and minor drainage work carried out on the runway. All cancelled airlines, including British Airways and Ryanair subsequently resumed full services.^[4]

★ 8 August 2007 - A First Choice aeroplane sunk several inches into a docking berth.^[5]

Airlines and destinations

The following scheduled airlines use City of Derry Airport (at November 2006):

★ British Airways

★
★ operated by Loganair (Dublin, Glasgow-International)

★ Ryanair (Bristol [starts 7 November 2007] , East Midlands, Glasgow-Prestwick, Liverpool, London-Stansted)
There are also chartered routes to the following destinations -

★ Lanzarote with Slattery Sun

★ Barcelona, Majorca and Sunny Beach/Golden Sands (Varna, Bulgaria) with Falcon Holidays

Passenger Numbers

According to City of Derry Airport, passenger traffic through the airport has been as follows:

★ 2000 – 172,501

★ 2001 – 199,543

★ 2002 – 204,390

★ 2003 – 217,112

★ 2004 – 238,874

★ 2005 – 205,821

★ 2006 – 347,376
Passenger numbers for 2005 fell following a reduction in Ryanair services to London Stansted due to safety restrictions over the absence of runway overshoot area. Services have since been restored following the commencement of work on the runway extension. In 2006 new Ryanair services commenced to Nottingham/East Midlands, Liverpool and Glasgow Prestwick, with Bristol commencing November 2007. Passenger numbers for 2007 are projected to be 400,000, and almost 500,000 in 2008.

References

1. Civil Aviation Authority Aerodrome Ordinary Licences
2. BBC News
3. Airport shut over safety concerns
4. BBC News - City airport cleared to re-open
5. The Derry Journal


★

External links

★ City of Derry Airport

★ Information about the City of Derry Airport

★ City airport decision 'due soon'