Airports - March April 2015

QATAR’S AL MOURJAN LOUNGE 

www.airportsworld.com Mar/Apr 2015 | Issue 58 

DUAL HUBS 

The Challenges Facing Airports 

LA PAZ 

On Top of the World 

LILLE 

Serving Northern France 

UNMANNED AND 

DANGEROUS 

Do Drones Threaten Air Traffic? 

7 

GLOBAL 

AIRPORTS 

INCLUDING: 

4 SPECIAL 

FEATURES 

BELFAST INTERNATIONAL 

Northern Ireland Gateway 

UK 

£4.70 

SAIPAN, MARIANAS 

Western Pacific Gem 

GUERNSEY 

Channel Island's Ambitions 

ULAANBAATAR 

Genghis Khan International

Contents 

Regulars 

4 News 

Detailed news coverage from the 

global airport scene. 

16 Industry Column 

– Unmanned and 

Dangerous 

Bruce Hales-Dutton examines the risks 

remotely piloted air systems pose to 

commercial aviation. 

32 Airport Infrastructure 

– Al Mourjan Lounge 

Luigi Vallero samples Qatar Airways’ 

new oasis for premium travellers at 

Doha’s Hamad International Airport. 

36 Snapshot – Dakar 

Ron Mak provides a sample of classic 

aircraft from Dakar’s Léopold Sédar 

Senghor International Airport. 

46 Airport Analysis – 

Divide and Conquer 

Ulf Meyer delves into the complex world 

of ‘dual-hubs’. 

71 UK Airport Visitors 

Our readers’ gallery – featuring a 

selection of the more interesting aircraft 

that have recently visited UK airports. 

74 Airport Infrastructure 

– Abu Dhabi 

Abu Dhabi International’s new midfield 

terminal opens in two years, but how 

is demand to be managed until then. 

82 Glossary 

We explain some of the abbreviations 

and acronyms that regularly appear 

in the pages of Airports of the World. 

Cover shot 

Lufthansa line-up at Frankfurt’s 

Pier A-Plus. (Fraport) 

38 Lille 

32 Doha 

54 La Paz

Features 

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30 and 31 for details. 

18 Belfast International 

The primary airport serving much of 

Northern Ireland is Belfast International. 

Paul B Anderson discovers it is striving 

to increase its range of destinations. 

24 Saipan – Asia’s Corfu 

Marco Finelli travels to the Western 

Pacific and visits a paradise with a 

very violent past – Saipan, one of the 

Mariana Islands. 

38 Resurgent Lille 

Lille Airport is bouncing back after 

a period of decline as it fights for its 

place in the highly competitive Franco- 

Belgian border region of Northeast 

France. Yinka Jan Sojinu investigates. 

54 La Paz – Holding 

the High Ground 

Sebastian Schmitz visits the world’s 

highest international airport – El Alto 

in La Paz, Bolivia. 

60 Island Delight 

Kevan James journeys to the Channel 

Island of Guernsey and discovers its 

well-equipped airport is eager to 

welcome more visitors from the UK 

and Europe. 

66 Mongolia Gateway 

Sebastian Schmitz heads east to 

Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and its 

Chinggis Khan International Airport, 

which is soon to be replaced by a new, 

larger facility 

78 Ecuadorian 

Swansong 

Sebastian Schmitz reports from 

Guayaquil’s José Joaquín de Olmedo 

International Airport as it enters its final 

decade before replacement by a new 

out-of-town facility. 

74 Abu Dhabi

EDITORIAL 

Airports and airlines are 

currently releasing performance 

figures for 2014 and overall the 

news is very good. Broadly 

speaking passenger numbers 

are up and, thanks in part to 

lower fuel costs, many carriers 

are posting profitable bottom 

lines – in some cases the first 

for a very long time. The year 

was also a safe one, despite 

the headline-grabbing incidents 

involving Malaysia Airlines. 

However, a new and worrying 

threat is emerging that could 

potentially put hundreds 

of flights and thousands of 

passengers at risk. Remotely 

piloted vehicles, or ‘drones’ as 

the wider media incorrectly 

calls them are appearing in 

the world’s skies in rapidly 

increasing numbers – and 

they are easily available and 

affordable for anyone to buy... 

whatever their motive for 

wanting one. 

Our industry column on page 

16 takes a look at the problem 

and at some of the technical 

solutions already being 

proposed. However, someone 

with good IT knowledge could 

potentially ‘hack’ any GPS 

safety systems programmed in 

to keep such vehicles away from 

airports and restricted airspace. 

There is a real danger here as 

some of these ‘drones’ are 

large and could cause serious 

damage if they were to hit an 

airliner. On January 23 Dubai 

International Airport was closed 

to flights for 35 minutes after a 

remotely piloted vehicle entered 

its restricted airspace which 

extends eight nautical miles 

from the facility. This was the 

third such incident at Dubai in 

less than a year. 

Clearly the ICAO, national 

regulators and governments 

must regulate further to prevent 

such incidents and penalties 

must be very harsh if they are 

to act as a deterrent. 

Mark Nicholls 

Brand Editor 

CAA Rules over Military 

Business jets have been using RAF Northolt in West London for decades. Now the safety of such aircraft using the military airfield comes under 

the remit of the CAA. (AuirTeamImages.com/TT) 

THE CIVIL Aviation Authority (CAA) 

has become responsible for the flight 

safety of private aircraft using all 

government-owned military airfields, 

following a high court ruling. 

In what many observers regard 

as a landmark judgement, the UK’s 

Ministry of Defence (MoD), and 

Secretary of State for Transport 

Patrick McLoughlin were told of 

the clarification in January, after a 

judicial review. It places private and 

military aviation operators on an 

equal competitive footing for safety 

and overheads. 

The ruling comes after Biggin Hill 

Airport and London/Oxford Airport, 

represented by John Steel QC, 

lodged an application for a judicial 

review into the use of RAF Northolt 

for business aviation flights, claiming 

the West London aerodrome did not 

meet civil safety standards. 

The judgment, handed down by 

the Hon Mr Justice Popplewell on 

January 23, dismissed the judicial 

review application in its entirety 

because of a technicality. However, 

the judge ruled that the CAA is 

responsible for the safety of all civilian 

flights using RAF Northolt and other 

military aerodromes in the United 

Kingdom and not the Military Aviation 

Authority (MAA) as was believed to 

be the case. Until now ministers had 

repeatedly argued that such facilities 

did not need to meet stricter, costlier 

civilian safety standards – just ‘lower’ 

military equivalents – and that the 

CAA had no regulatory powers at 

military airfields. 

The trigger for the proceedings 

came in April 2012 when the MoD 

lifted the self-imposed limit on 

commercial flights at Northolt from 

7,000 to 12,000 movements per year. 

Will Curtis, Managing Director of 

Biggin Hill Airport, said in a statement 

after the hearing: “Despite a serious 

crash in 1996 in which an aircraft 

overran the runway and collided with 

a vehicle on the A40 trunk road, 

RAF Northolt evidently believed 

it was entitled to bypass many 

internationally accepted aviation 

safety measures – measures that civil 

airports, such as ours, are required to 

maintain. Lower safety standards at 

military aerodromes are unacceptable, 

not only for those in the aviation 

industry, but also for passengers and 

those in the surrounding community 

on the ground.” 

The CAA is now expected to carry 

out a safety audit at RAF Northolt. 

London Oxford Airport and Biggin Hill 

Airport has also lodged a State Aid 

complaint with the EU Competition 

Commission. It argues that the MoD 

has been unfairly competing with 

the private sector, which if proven 

could land the ministry with a 

compensation bill running into tens 

of millions. 

“Using taxpayers’ money to 

compete with civil airports serving 

the same customers is simply not 

equitable,” Curtis added. “As military 

and government flights at RAF 

Northolt have declined, replacing 

them with 12,000 civilian flights a 

year means it is now effectively a civil 

airport via the back door, despite the 

Airports Commission stating that it 

sees no long-term role for it.” 

A statement on RAF Northolt’s 

website says the airfield “remains 

able to accept civil aviation as 

per its published limitations and 

procedures”. 

Brand Editor: Mark Nicholls 

Contributing Editors: Barry Woods-Turner, 

Tom Allett, Craig West, Richard Benedikz 

Correspondents: Luigi Vallero (Italy), 

Sebastian Schmitz (Germany) 

Production Editor: Sue Blunt 

Deputy Production Editor: Carol Randall 

Sub Editors: Norman Wells, Paul Watson 

Designer: Tracey Mumby 

Chief Designer: Steve Donovan 

Group Marketing Manager: Martin Steele 

Marketing Manager: Shaun Binnington 

Commercial Director: Ann Saundry 

Production Manager: Janet Watkins 

Group Advertisement Manager: Brodie Baxter 

Advertisement Manager: Andrew Mason 

Advertising Production Manager: Debi McGowan 

Advertising Production Controller: Rebecca Duffy 

Executive Chairman: Richard Cox 

Managing Director & Publisher: Adrian Cox 

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4 airports of the world

Dubai Takes Heathrow’s Crown 

DUBAI INTERNATIONAL Airport 

(DXB) surpassed London/Heathrow 

as the world’s busiest facility for 

international passengers in 2014. 

With no domestic services in the 

United Arab Emirates (UAE), all 

70,475,636 passengers travelled 

overseas and while London/ 

Heathrow handled greater numbers 

at 73.4 million – those flying 

internationally totalled 68.1 million. 

This was achieved despite a 

temporary reduction in flights due 

to an 80-day runway refurbishment 

project at DXB. This had an effect 

on annual aircraft movements which 

were 357,399, down from 369,953 

in 2013. 

Operator Dubai Airports is 

expecting traveller numbers to 

reach 79 million this year. Paul 

Griffiths, CEO of Dubai Airports said: 

“Much like 2014, 2015 promises to 

be another eventful year featuring 

more record passenger numbers 

and facility upgrades including the 

opening of Concourse D which will 

boost Dubai International’s capacity 

to 90 million.” 

Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al 

Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai 

Airports, added: “The shared goal 

Top Ten Airports 2014 

is to make Dubai a global centre of 

aviation and we are nearing that 

goal thanks to an open skies policy, 

a friendly business environment, 

Dubai’s growing attractiveness 

as a centre for trade, commerce 

and tourism, growing network 

connectivity due to the rapid 

expansion of Emirates and flydubai 

and timely investment in aviation 

infrastructure.” 

The top market for growth in 

Airport Passengers Increase 

1 Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta 96.1 million 1.85% 

2 Beijing Capital 86.1 million 2.9% 

3 London/Heathrow 73.4 million 1.4% 

4 Tokyo/Haneda 73 million 6% 

5 Los Angeles 70.7 million 6% 

6 Dubai International 70.4 million 6.1% 

7 Chicago O’Hare 70.07 million 4.45% 

8 Paris/CDG 63.8 million 2.8% 

9 Hong Kong 63.4 million 5.8% 

10 Dallas/Fort Worth 62.9 million 4.4% 

Although Chicago O’Hare has slipped two places in the passenger numbers, it has regained 

top spot for movements from Atlanta, thanks in part to increasing numbers of feeder commuter 

flights. (Key – Mark Nicholls) 

Dubai International has surpassed London/Heathrow as the world’s busiest international airport – 

helped by the rapid expansion of home carrier Emirates. (AirTeamImages.com/BaoLuo) 

passenger volumes last year was 

Western Europe with an increase 

of 1,192,831, followed by the Indian 

Subcontinent with an increase of 

936,449, Asia with another 716,180 

and North America with a rise of 

432,597. 

Departure capacity from the 

airport has also risen from 

16,799,851 seats in 2005 to 

45,019,420 seats last year, an 

average annual increase of 18.7%. 

Airports 

Top Ten 2014 

PROVISIONAL FIGURES for last year 

show a few changes among the top 

ten global airports. Hartsfield- 

Jackson/Atlanta International Airport 

retains its top spot for passenger 

numbers, but has lost its leading 

movements crown to Chicago O’Hare. 

Chicago also slipped from fifth to 

seventh position in the passenger 

rankings, surpassed by Los Angeles 

and Dubai, while Jakarta has dropped 

out of the top ten, being replaced by 

Hong Kong/Chek Lap Kok at number 

nine, with Dallas/Fort Worth slipping 

to tenth position. 

Significantly, each of the ten 

facilities enjoyed rising passenger 

numbers, with Dubai International 

leading the way with a 6.1% increase 

compared with the previous year. 

Europe’s 

Air Traffic 

Boom 

AIRPORT TRADE body ACI Europe 

has released its traffic report for 2014, 

revealing that passenger traffic at 

the continent’s facilities grew by an 

average 5.4%. Passenger traffic in 

the European Union (EU) increased 

by 4.9%, with Greece, Luxembourg, 

Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, 

Belgium and Ireland significantly 

outperforming the EU average. 

Conversely, countries such as Poland, 

France, Germany, Austria, Latvia and 

the Czech Republic all saw airport 

traffic growing below this average. 

Meanwhile, non-EU airports posted 

passenger traffic growth of 7.3% with 

Serbia, Iceland, Georgia and Turkey 

all growing well above this average. 

Air freight traffic across the 

European area grew by 3.6% with 

a similar performance between EU 

and non-EU airports (3.6% and 3.3% 

respectively). Aircraft movements 

were up 2.6%, reflecting additional 

airline capacity, however, the bulk 

of this was at non-EU airports which 

saw aircraft movements increase by 

5.6% compared with just 1.5% at 

EU airports. 

Olivier Jankovec, Director General 

of ACI Europe, said: “2014 was 

generally a good year for Europe’s 

airports and what really stands out 

is the fact that passenger traffic at 

EU airports significantly outpaced 

economic performance. This shows 

just how resilient the demand for air 

transport is and reflects how much 

consumers and businesses rely on air 

connectivity. However, the year also 

saw the direct impact of geopolitical 

tensions with passenger traffic falling 

in Ukraine and slowing down sharply 

in Russia. This resulted in almost 

converged growth rates between 

EU and non-EU airports in the final 

months of the year.” 

Among the best performing 

European airports were: Istanbul/ 

Sabiha Gökçen (traffic up 25.4%), 

Athens (21.3%), Chisinau (34.8%), 

Mikonos (26.9%), Brussels (14.7%), 

Lisbon (13.3%) and London/ 

Stansted (11.8%). 

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www.airportsworld.com 5

NEWS 

LATEST UPDATES 

Hanoi Opens Terminal 2 

The spacious interior of Hanoi/Noi Bai 

International Airport’s new Terminal 2. 

(Robbie Shaw) 

NOI BAI International Airport 

serving Hanoi, Vietnam, opened its 

new Terminal 2 on January 4. The 

facility, used by international flights, 

covers 456,745sq ft (42,432m 2 ) 

and has 96 check-in desks, ten 

self-service check-in kiosks, 283 

flight information displays and 17 

gates, 14 of them equipped with 

airbridges. The building raises the 

airport’s capacity to 19mppa and it 

is designed to be expanded in 2020 

to meet anticipated demand. In 

2013 the airport handled 15.2 million 

travellers, despite having an official 

capacity of only 9mppa. The old 

Terminal 1 is now being used purely 

for domestic flights. More on Hanoi’s 

new terminal will appear in the next 

issue of Airports of the World. 

WORK HAS begun on a major 

refurbishment of Terminal 1 at 

Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport. 

A series of projects and initiatives 

will add capacity and transform 

the passenger experience by mid- 

2016. The project includes faster 

Sydney Upgrades Terminal 1 

access from security screening 

to gates, more seating, enhanced 

ambience, wider walkways, 

improved wayfinding, direct paths 

to gates with clearer sightlines, 

environmentally friendly design 

features, plus new shopping and 

dining outlets. Two new baggage 

carousels are already in service 

and check-in counters are being 

extended to accommodate more 

passengers. 

Construction will be staged over 20 

months, with the first phase starting 

in the middle of the terminal with 

the relocation of some seating and 

retail areas in order to facilitate the 

improvements. Clear signage will 

help communicate this to passengers 

and every effort will be made to keep 

disruption to a minimum. 

Düsseldorf Welcomes 

Dreamliner 

Etihad Airways introduced its new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on services between Abu Dhabi 

and the German city of Düsseldorf on February 1. Seen six days later, aircraft A6-BLA (c/n 

39646) is arriving on stand after its flight from the Middle East. (Marcus Steidele) 

JFK Concourse B Complete 

THE CONCOURSE B extension at 

New York/John F Kennedy Airport’s 

Terminal 4 has been completed. 

The announcement by Delta Air 

Lines and the Port Authority of New 

York and New Jersey in January 

cleared the way for the carrier to 

move 80% of its JFK services to 

the concourse, thus speeding up 

transfer times for passengers. 

Forming part of an overall $1.2bn 

expansion, the $175m project 

has added 11 airbridge-equipped 

gates and 75,000sq ft (6,967m 2 ) 

to the concourse. Intra-terminal 

connections are catered for by a new 

bus stop at the end of the concourse. 

The Port Authority’s Executive 

Director, Pat Foye, said: “The Port 

Authority and our airline partners 

are committed to continuing 

our initiatives to transform and 

modernise JFK into a world-class 

facility befitting the hundreds of 

thousands of people who fly in and 

out of our region each day. We 

applaud Delta’s investment in New 

York City’s airports to modernise 

and expand its terminal operations, 

and we will continue to work with 

all of our stakeholders to make 

sure JFK continues to serve as a 

premier source of job creation and 

economic activity.” 


London City Expansion Approved 

THE STRATEGIC Development 

Committee of Newham Council 

has approved planning permission 

allowing a £200m development 

at London City Airport and the 

construction of a 260-bed hotel. The 

granting of permission will allow the 

airport to handle up to 111,000 flights 

a year (up from the current 70,000 

limit), although it is 10,000 fewer than 

requested. The project is expected to 

create 1,500 jobs, on top of the 500 

during construction, and could double 

the airport’s economic value to the 

area – which could reach £1.5bn a year. 

London City’s CEO Declan Collier 

said: “The development of the 

airport will culminate in 2023 when, 

having constructed seven new 

aircraft stands, a parallel taxiway 

and terminal extensions to the 

west and to the east, the airport 

will be welcoming some six million 

THE MANCHESTER Airports Group 

(MAG) announced the next phase of 

its £260m redevelopment project at 

London/Stansted during the Future 

Travel Experience Europe event in 

London on February 4. The work 

will upgrade and rejuvenate the 

Satellite One departure gate area 

and includes a new Escape Lounge 

specifically aimed at attracting more 

long-haul carriers. Costing £8m the 

development will restyle the satellite 

passengers every year.” 

Council officers set out 131 

conditions that are designed to 

reduce any impact on local residents. 

These include no more than 45 

More Stansted Upgrades 

and add more comfortable seats, 

refurbished toilets, charging points 

for electronic devices and improve 

Wi-Fi access. 

The airport’s managing director, 

Andrew Harrison, commented: 

“These are really exciting times and 

will be a significant turning point 

in the airport’s history. Having 

successfully returned Stansted 

to growth, making it once again 

London’s fastest growing airport, 

Planning permission to allow 

the development of London City 

Airport to handle up to 111,000 

flights a year has been approved. 

(Simon Murdoch) 

flights per hour, the building of a 

noise barrier to the south of the 

site during construction and limiting 

the noisiest work, such as piling, to 

weekends. 

we’re driving forward our ambition 

to attract a greater mix of airlines, 

including long-haul connections to 

serve our region and the London 

– Stansted – Cambridge economic 

growth corridor. I’m really excited 

and looking forward to this time 

next year when this phase of 

re-development will be completed 

and our passengers can fully 

experience how Stansted is changing, 

because this is just the beginning.” 

NEWS 


IN BRIEF 

London/Southend Airport set a new 

passenger record last year of 1,090,696, 

exceeding the 2013 figure of 970,167. The 

most popular destination was Amsterdam, 

which attracted 200,973 travellers. 

The airport has undergone a £120m 

transformation since it was bought by the 

Stobart Group in 2008, and has benefitted 

from a new hotel, ATC tower, terminal, 

railway station and runway extension. 

Simon Murdoch 

Stockholm/Arlanda Airport could be 

the first in Scandinavia to provide US 

customs and immigration preclearance. 

The Swedish Government is to consider 

introducing the capability, which if agreed 

would make it only the second European 

nation (after Ireland) to offer it. If the 

Swedish and US governments approve 

the idea, Arlanda Airport would instigate 

construction of new facilities. 

Amsterdam/Schiphol welcomed 55 million 

passengers during 2014 – a 0.6% increase 

compared with the previous year. At 

Eindhoven Airport numbers were 3.9 million, 

up 16%, while Rotterdam’s The Hague 

Airport welcomed 1.7 million passengers, 

up 6.1%. 

Schiphol Group’s President and CEO Jos 

Nijhuis said: “These figures show that 

Schiphol Group has achieved growth in 

all of its operations. This is no reason for 

complacency, however. In collaboration 

with our home carrier KLM, other airlines 

and business partners, we will continue 

to work hard to strengthen the role of 

Schiphol with a view to remaining Europe’s 

preferred airport.” 

EMIRATES upgraded its second daily 

service from Dubai to Manchester with 

an Airbus A380, replacing the Boeing 

777 that previously flew the route, from 

February 1. The move will deliver an 

extra 13% in seat capacity for the North 

West facility as well as a more than 20% 

increase in premium cabin availability. 

AirPortr Pursues New Markets 

UK-BASED baggage concierge 

provider AirPortr is negotiating with 

several London airports, including 

Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, to 

expand its services. The company 

then plans to branch out across the 

UK and into Europe. It also wants to 

serve international customers and is 

currently working with the relevant 

UK customs and border agencies to 

see if this is possible. 

AirPortr has been operating at 

London City Airport since last May 

and collects passengers’ luggage 

for them, then takes it to their 

desired location, such as a hotel, 

home or place of business – and 

vice-versa. Currently this is limited 

(MAG) 

to domestic flights as operatives 

collect luggage from the arrivals 

hall carousels. 

Customers can track their bag’s 

progress using a smartphone app 

and real-time GPS location. Prices 

start from £15 for the first item and 

£5 for each additional bag. For 

more details visit: http://portr.com 

Belarusian News reports that the 

reconstruction of the main terminal at 

Minsk National Airport in Belarus is now 

complete. The project is believed to have 

cost $65m, and according to the Belarusian 

Deputy Prime Minister Anatoly Kalinin the 

project has added 6,561sq ft (609m 2 ) of 

floor space to provide more room in the 

immigration and customs areas. 

Almost 10.6 million passengers used 

Warsaw/Chopin Airport in 2014, the 

second best result in its history. The 

majority of passengers, 9,373,000, 

travelled internationally with domestic 

services accounting for only 1,217,000. 

Airport Director Michał Kaczmarzyk 

commented: “It was a very good year 

for the airport. We served 10.6 million 

passengers without Ryanair, which shows 

a significant potential for growth.” 


NEWS 


Funding 

for Argyle 

International 

THE GOVERNMENT of St Vincent 

and the Grenadines has allocated 

$27.7m for the completion of Argyle 

International Airport, which was 

originally expected to be open by 

now. The $270m facility is to replace 

the current E T Joshua Airport 

near Kingstown and will allow 

direct flights from international 

destinations to serve the nation. 

No final completion date has been 

set, but the island’s Prime Minister 

Dr Ralph Gonsalves told parliament 

that it would be finished this year. In 

his speech he said: “As always, our 

government makes contingency 

plans in the event of the delay in 

the draw-down of grants or softloans. 

This has been a constant 

factor in the life of the airport’s 

construction. The pavement works 

have already commenced with the 

placement of the base and subbase 

for the runway, aprons and 

taxiways. The asphalt works and the 

concrete works on the aerodrome 

are scheduled for completion by the 

end of May 2015.” 

Regarding air services he 

commented: “Several airlines 

have expressed interest in adding 

St Vincent and the Grenadines to 

their networks, and agreements 

are expected in the first half of 2015 

with several of them.” 

LAST YEAR was an encouraging one 

for Amsterdam/Schiphol Airport’s 

cargo traffic, which beat the 2013 

figure by 6.7%. The final quarter was 

once again its strongest, maintaining 

the last-quarter-peak pattern which 

was the norm before the 2008 global 

recession. Tonnage for the October- 

December period was 422,112 – an 

increase of 3% on the same period 

in 2013. 

For the year, tonnage was 1,633,195, 

with North America showing the 

strongest growth – up 14% compared 

Cargo Bounce-back 

at Schiphol 

Great Wall Airlines’ Boeing 747-412F/SCD B-2433 (c/n 28027), now with China Cargo Airlines, 

touches down at Amsterdam/Schiphol on July 31, 2014. (AirTeamImages.com/Javier de la Cruz) 

with 2013. This was followed by 

Europe (+12.5%), Middle East (+6.1%), 

Asia (+5.4%) and Africa (+4.1%). 

Latin America however ended 

the year down by 2%. Freighter 

movements in 2014 totalled 16,568 

– an increase of 6% year-on-year. 

Enno Osinga, Schiphol Cargo’s 

Senior Vice President, said: “An 

interesting development in the 

figures was that December was the 

only month of 2014 in which we 

experienced negative growth. This 

has two explanations – in 2014 there 

was a large volume of Playstations 

and X-boxes that needed to reach the 

shops before Christmas, creating an 

early peak. 

“Secondly, it’s clear that the US 

west coast port problems have 

caused a shift of available freighter 

capacity from Asia-Europe to the 

Pacific to deal with ocean freight 

backlogs, resulting in December’s 

decline in growth from Asia. Given 

the continuation of these US 

problems, it’s realistic to expect the 

start of 2015 to be slow.” 

Frankfurt T1 Developments 

FRAPORT, WHICH runs Frankfurt 

Airport, has unveiled development 

plans for redesigning the Terminal 

1 forecourt and access roads. Initial 

work has already started on the €36m 

project and is scheduled to last about 14 

months. The extensive refurbishment 

will focus on the terminal façade and 

entrances, as well as pedestrian areas 

and roadways on the arrivals level of 

the terminal forecourt. 

The old perforated brick exterior 

of the arrivals level will be replaced 

by a contemporary metal and glass 

façade and the walkways and roads 

resurfaced. The entire area will be 

brighter and more welcoming, thanks 

to improved lighting. Additional 

traffic-calming measures will make 

the forecourt more attractive to 

pedestrians with LED walls added to 

create a multi-media experience in 

its middle zone. 

Dr Matthias Zieschang, Fraport AG’s 

executive board member for controlling 

and finance (CFO), explained the 

An artist’s impression of the brighter Terminal 1 forecourt and access roads at Frankfurt Airport. (Fraport) 

importance of the project: “We wish 

to improve the travel experience 

significantly for our passengers, their 

meeters and greeters, as well as the 

environment for airport staff. The 

redesigned forecourt will serve as an 

attractive reception area, especially 

for our international guests. Because 

regular terminal operations will 

continue during the construction 

phase, we ask passengers for their 

understanding about temporary traffic 

restrictions and re-routing.” 

Traffic flow on the T1 access 

roads will also be better managed. 

Measures to provide drivers with 

better guidance and to keep the 

traffic moving at all times will be 

implemented. “Due to the existing 

high utilisation of T1, we are well 

aware of the situation facing drivers 

during peak hours. Thus, we are 

taking steps to alleviate traffic 

congestion, particularly in view of 

the growing passenger volumes at 

Frankfurt,” added Zieschang. 


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NEWS 


Edinburgh 

Expansion 

Part 2 

CONSTRUCTION WORK has begun 

to expand the immigration hall 

at Edinburgh Airport by 6,560sq 

ft (609m 2 ) and add a further 

baggage reclaim area. The 

£50m project will also add more 

airbridges and aircraft stands and 

is intended to accommodate more 

long-haul services. The facilities 

are expected to be ready in time for 

the introduction of Etihad Airways’ 

flights from Abu Dhabi on June 8. 

The work forms the second stage 

of a multi-phase five-year £150m 

development; the first phase – a 

£25m terminal extension – has 

already been completed. The 

airport recorded an impressive 

90% increase in long-haul traffic 

last year, helped by new services 

by Qatar Airways, United Airlines 

and US Airways and more flights 

by Turkish Airlines. 

The Prime Minister David 

Cameron visited the airport 

in January and was shown 

the construction site by the 

airport’s CEO Gordon Dewar and 

its Chairman Sir John Elvidge. 

Speaking at the event, Dewar 

said: “The work we’ll be carrying 

out over the next four years will 

transform our airside facilities, 

tripling our capacity to handle 

bigger aircraft and paving the way 

for the next ten years of increased 

international connectivity.” 

The Prime Minister commented: 

“Having first class infrastructure 

is a crucial part of our longterm 

economic plan to support 

business, create jobs and secure 

a brighter future for hardworking 

families across the country. The 

expansion of Edinburgh Airport is 

great news for Scotland and for 

the whole of the UK.” 

WORK ON the PHX Sky Train at 

Phoenix/Sky Harbor International 

Airport in Arizona has been 

completed and the system fully 

connects the regional Valley Metro 

Rail with the airport’s east economy 

parking area and all three terminals. 

The city’s Mayor Greg Stanton, 

members of the city council, and 

Airbus A350 Launched 

on Doha-Frankfurt Route 

Qatar Airways placed its new Airbus A350 XWB into commercial service on the Doha- 

Frankfurt route on January 15. The aircraft, A350-900 A7-ALA (c/n 006), carried out flight 

QR068, with the journey taking 6hrs 50mins. For more on the first commercial service see 

the April issue our sister publication Airliner World. (Fraport) 

Phoenix Sky Train Complete 

Malta Invests 

MALTA INTERNATIONAL Airport 

is investing €4m on infrastructure 

projects this year. They include 

a €2m expansion of the non- 

Schengen arrivals area, $900,000 

worth of runway, taxiway and apron 

improvements, $450,000 for new 

back-up generators, €100,000 on 

an emergency operations centre 

and €520,000 to upgrade the highvoltage 

supply network. 

The work is necessary as the airport 

continues to welcome increasing 

numbers of passengers – which last 

year reached almost 4.3 million, 

up 6.4% on 2013. This year the 

Mediterranean island will welcome four 

new carriers – Aegean Airlines, Finnair, 

Jet2 and Swiss International Air Lines. 

airport officials rode on the train 

to the last station to be opened 

– at Terminal 3 – on December 8 

last year to mark completion of 

the projects. The new station has 

a walkway link to T2. 

Mayor Stanton said: “All of Sky 

Harbor’s passengers may now 

enjoy an easy connection with public 

The completed Sky Train system at Phoenix/Sky Harbor 

International Airport offers fast and convenient transfer for 

passengers. (Phoenix/Sky Harbor International Airport) 

transportation, and a convenient ride 

between the airport and downtown 

Phoenix.” The opening was in time 

for the NFL 2015 Super Bowl, which 

was played in the city on February 

1. The Sky train project was finished 

ahead of schedule and under budget, 

according to Phoenix Acting Aviation 

Director Tamie Fisher. 

Taking the Strain at Heathrow 

Vanderlande’s new STACK@EASE units are to be introduced at London/Heathrow’s Terminal 

3 following a successful trial. (Vanderlande Industries) 

DUTCH BAGGAGE handling specialist 

Vanderlande Industries has been 

awarded a contract to supply and 

install 72 STACK@EASE units as 

part of London/Heathrow Airport’s 

Terminal 3 integrated baggage 

(T3IB) system. This follows a recent 

successful test of the product at 

terminals 3 and 5. 

Developed by Vanderlande in 

2013, the STACK@EASE is highly 

flexible and takes heavy lifting out 

of loading operations in baggage 

handling environments. It works as 

an extension of the handlers’ normal 

operations to minimise their physical 

workload. This helps to increase 

productivity and reduce the risk of 

manual handling injuries. 

The STACK@EASE unit takes 

its power from any standard wall 

socket and is a compact design. This 

enables it to fit easily into baggage 

handling systems with a minimum of 

disruption to existing layouts. During 

the test, the system proved capable 

of maintaining the required load rate 

and needed minimal intervention from 

the maintenance team. This was 

demonstrated to a number of VIPs 

– T3IB baggage stakeholders from 

Heathrow, Vanderlande and British 

Airways – at the test, in which 12 units 

were used to load several flights. 


NEWS 


Records tumble at Birmingham 

BIRMINGHAM AIRPORT (BHX) 

reported 2014 as its busiest-ever year, 

ending with another record month in 

December. BHX handled 9,707,449 

passengers in 2014, 6.5% more than 

in 2013. It also celebrated seven 

record months – April, May, June, July, 

August, November and December – 

with Dublin, Dubai and Amsterdam 

its top three routes. In December, 

622,317 passengers travelled through, 

up 8.4% year-on-year and the busiest 

December since 2008. 

The airport’s CEO, Paul Kehoe, 

said: “During 2014 we experienced 

seven record months and saw the 

completion of a major package 

of infrastructure works that has 

prepared the airport for future 

passenger growth. The passenger 

records have been achieved as a 

result of airlines introducing new 

routes and more people realising 

the ease of travelling to and through 

Birmingham Airport – and the 

coming year looks equally exciting 

St Athan Busy 

as we prepare for American Airlines, 

Norwegian and Vueling to start 

operations in the summer. 

“We also expect Dubai to overtake 

Dublin as the most popular 

destination this year, as Emirates 

get set to launch a third daily service 

from August; and with more capacity 

being offered by Turkish Airlines, 

Air India, SAS, Brussels Airlines, 

Aegean, Thomson and Thomas Cook, 

travellers can expect more choice 

than ever from Birmingham in 2015.” 

IN BRIEF 

American Express opened a new lounge 

beside Gate 24 at Sydney International 

Airport in February. It is for exclusive 

use by its premium card members. The 

facility is being run by Plaza Premium 

and provides guests with complimentary 

food and beverages, shower suites, Wi-Fi, 

business facilities, flight information 

screens, and local and international 

magazines and newspapers. 

Passenger numbers at Copenhagen 

Airport grew by 6.5%, to 25,627,093 

last year compared with 2013, the fourth 

consecutive record year. There was a 

significant rise in transfer passengers 

– up by 12.6% – with the highest growth 

rates on the important feeder routes from 

Stockholm, Oslo and Bergen. International 

traffic was up by 6.8% for the year while 

domestic traffic rose 2.3%. 

Liverpool/John Lennon Airport will welcome 

a direct Czech Airlines link from Prague 

on May 18. The carrier is expanding its 

European network and the Liverpool service 

will run year round on weekdays. 

Yakutia Cargo Boeing 757-23APF VQ-BOX (c/n 24868) was noted outside Cardiff Aviation’s facility at 

MoD St Athan on January 27 following repairs to its tail. Several companies are involved in developing 

maintenance, repair and parting out activities at the site near Cardiff Airport, Wales. (Geoff Jones) 

SCOTLAND’S REGIONAL airports 

enjoyed their busiest year ever in 

2014 according to latest figures. 

A record 1.4 million passengers 

passed through Highlands and 

Islands Airports Limited’s (HIAL) 11 

airports, almost 52,000 more than 

the previous year, representing a 

3.8% increase. 

HIAL’s busiest airport, Inverness, 

had its best year since 2008, with 

628,526 passengers, up by 1.7% on 

2013. This was largely as a result of 

growing demand on the Manchester 

and Amsterdam routes, which are 

increasingly popular alternative 

hubs to London, and the launch 

of a new link with Dublin, which 

offers connections to the United 

States and Canada. Latest figures 

show passenger numbers on the 

Amsterdam route up 14%, while 

Manchester’s figures soared by 32% 

over the past year. 

Sumburgh confirmed its status as 

Scotland’s fastest growing major 

airport with an 18.2% rise to 319,597 

passengers. The airport is about 

to undergo further investment 

after Scottish Transport Minister 

Best Ever Year for HIAL 

Derek Mackay gave the go-ahead 

for funding for a second phase of 

redevelopment. 

Barra recorded an 11.5% increase in 

the amount of travellers while Islay, 

Stornoway and Tiree also enjoyed 

strong growth during the year. 

There was more modest growth at 

Benbecula and Kirkwall. Numbers 

fell slightly at Campbeltown and by 

19.5% at Dundee, though the decline 

has slowed in recent months. At 

Wick/John O’Groats traveller levels 

HIAL Passenger Statistics 

returned to more typical levels for the 

airport following a surge in 2013 due 

to increased but short- term offshore 

helicopter activity. 

Managing Director Inglis Lyon said: 

“We are delighted with performance 

of the group as a whole, particularly 

at Sumburgh and Barra, which have 

been our fastest growing airports. 

The success of these two underlines 

the importance of aviation for 

business and tourism in our island 

communities.” 

Airport 2014 2013 % change 

Barra 10,560 9,474 11.5 

Benbecula 33,367 32,805 1.7 

Campbeltown 9,774 9,910 -1.4 

Dundee 22,865 28,420 -19.5 

Inverness 628,526 617,719 1.7 

Islay 28,460 26,981 5.5 

Kirkwall 177,419 176,605 0.5 

Stornoway 133,094 126,586 5.1 

Sumburgh 319,597 270,349 18.2 

Tiree 9,880 9,038 9.3 

Wick/JoG 32,688 46,433 -29.6 

Total 1,406,230 1,354,320 3.8 

Singapore/Changi Airport recorded 54.1 

million passengers last year, a 0.7% 

increase compared with 2013 and the 

busiest in its 33-year history. Cargo 

volumes were stable at 1.84 million tonnes, 

while flight movements dipped 0.7% to 

341,390. Airfreight shipments between 

Singapore and Japan rose 7.5% yearon-year, 

boosted by the commencement 

of a new Okinawa-Singapore service by 

ANA Cargo. Two of Singapore’s key trade 

partners – Australia and China – also 

exhibited positive growth of 5.7% and 

1.3% respectively. 

Last year Prague’s Václav Havel Airport 

exceeded the 11 million passengers a year 

mark for the first time. The 11,149,926 

figure represents a 1.6 % increase 

compared with the previous year. 

Several new carriers helped to boost 

the numbers, including Adria Airways, 

Ryanair, Transavia France, Air Transat, 

Pegasus Airlines and flydubai. 

Portugal’s Lisbon Airport handled more 

than 18 million travellers last year – 

two million more than 2013 equating 

to a rise of 13.5%. This impressive 

performance was down to several 

factors, among them Turkish Airlines 

which is planning to further increase 

services between Istanbul, Lisbon and 

Porto this year. 

Construction has begun on the new Jewel 

Changi Airport project in Singapore (see 

Airports of the World, issue 51, p60). 

Mott MacDonald is the building services 

consultant for the development, which 

will feature attractions, retail offerings, a 

hotel and other amenities. Completion is 

set for 2018. 


NEWS 


Vietnamese 

Developments 

A NEW terminal has opened 

at Vinh airport in the Nghe An 

Province of Vietnam. Believed to 

have cost $56.4m – invested by 

operator Airports Corporation of 

Vietnam – it covers 125,942sq ft 

(11,700m 2 ), has 28 check-in desks 

and four gates and will raise the 

airport’s capacity to 3mppa. 

Meanwhile construction has 

begun on a new $70m terminal 

at Cat Bi International Airport 

in Vietnam’s Hai Phong City, 

where the existing terminal has 

a capacity of 800,000 passengers 

a year. The new structure, 

designed for both domestic and 

international use, will increase this 

by 4mppa. Completion is expected 

in the fourth quarter of 2016. 

airBaltic Celebration 

Latvian carrier airBaltic welcomed the one millionth passenger on its Oslo-Riga route on January 

6. The lucky person was El na Viša who received a gift upon arriving in Riga – two Business Class 

tickets to any of the carrier’s 60 destinations in Europe, the CIS and the Middle East. (airBaltic) 

New Airport 

for Chengdu 

REGULATORY APPROVAL has 

been granted for a new $10.8bn 

airport to be built in Chengdu, 

China. The facility is expected 

to have a capacity of 40mppa 

and three runways when it 

opens in 2025. 

The city’s existing Shuangliu 

Airport dates from 1938 and, 

although expanded and updated, 

it is struggling to keep pace with 

demand. Last year it handled 

37 million passengers, up 12.8% 

compared with 2013, and traffic 

levels have more than doubled 

since 2005. Its current capacity 

is also 40mppa – which is 

expected to be reached next 

year – and it is likely to remain in 

use after the new airport opens. 

Helsinki 

Connects 

THE LONG-AWAITED railway 

connection between Helsinki Airport 

and the Finnish capital’s city centre is 

set to become a reality this summer 

with the opening of the New Ring Rail 

Line. The rail link will also improve 

the public transport system across 

the region. Additionally it will be an 

option for Russian travellers as they 

will be able to take the train from St 

Petersburg direct to Helsinki Airport. 

Construction of the Ring Rail Line, 

which is 11 miles (18km) long, started 

in 2009 and it is being managed by 

the Finnish Transport Agency. 

Heathrow’s 

Latest A380 

The latest carrier to bring the Airbus A380 to London/Heathrow is Etihad Airways. The superjumbo A6-APA (c/n 166), which was introduced 

on the route to Abu Dhabi on December 27, is seen arriving at Heathrow two days later. (Richard Vandervord) 

Icelandair Arrives in 

Birmingham 

Icelandair launched flights between Reykjavik and Birmingham Airport on February 5, using its 

specially painted Aurora Borealis aircraft – Boeing 757-256 TF-FIU (c/n 26243). The service 

offers passengers the chance to transfer to North American flights in Iceland. Welcoming 

the inaugural flight was Birmingham Airport’s CEO Paul Kehoe (second from the left), the 

Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Shafique Shah (centre) and Icelandair CEO Birkir Hólm 

Guðnason (second from the right). (Birmingham Airport) 

New Terminal 

for Abha 

UNITED ARAB Emirates (UAE) 

construction company Al Jaber 

Group has been awarded a $479m 

contract to build a new terminal 

at Abha Regional Airport in 

Saudi Arabia. The 282,000sq ft 

(26,198m 2 ) structure will have a 

capacity of 5mppa and be equipped 

with 20 airbridges. The apron will 

accommodate a maximum of 26 

aircraft and a 2,800-space multistorey 

car park will be included. 

Chairman of Al Jaber Group, 

His Excellency Obaid Khaleefa 

Al Jaber Al Marri, said: “Al 

Jaber Group’s Saudi branch is 

witnessing substantial growth 

since we started our operations 

in Riyadh last year. We were 

able to compete and win sizable 

projects, including the Abha 

Airport development project.” 

SkyTeam 

Lounge at 

Sydney 

THE SKYTEAM airline alliance has 

introduced a new lounge at Sydney 

Airport, Australia, the group’s third. It 

can seat 140 guests and has charging 

points for electrical devices, free Wi-Fi, 

a TV room, a fully equipped business 

area, a ‘wellness centre’ with showers 

and four full-body massage chairs as 

well as the usual complimentary food 

and beverages. It also offers excellent 

views across the airport. 

It is open to Elite Plus, and First and 

Business Class passengers flying with 

the seven SkyTeam airlines currently 

serving Sydney. Plaza Premium 

Lounge Management Limited will run 

the facility on behalf of the alliance. 

SkyTeam Managing Director Michael 

Wisbrun said: “It’s a great way to kick 

off our 15th anniversary year." 


New Iraqi Airport 

A NEW airport, primarily for cargo use, 

is to be built to serve Iraq’s Diwaniya 

governorate (province) following the 

award of a 45-year contract to build and 

run the facility to Kuwait firm Al Nasriyah. 

Construction of the $1.35bn airport will 

be in three phases and will include a 

surrounding aerotropolis featuring 

industry and recreational areas. It is 

estimated the development will generate 

more than 8,000 jobs. Phase one is 

valued at $420m and includes the 

main airport infrastructure and a free 

trade zone. Work is expected to start 

imminently with the first phase taking 

just over two years to finish and the 

entire project completed in five years. 

A single 11,811ft (3,600m) runway 

will be able to handle the world’s 

largest aircraft. 

NEWS 


World’s Shortest 

International Flights 

Approval for Second 

Suvarnabhumi Terminal 

AIRPORTS OF Thailand (AoT) has 

approved the construction of a 

second terminal and a third runway at 

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. The 

projects are expected to cost $1.47bn, 

with the runway due to be completed 

in 2017 and the terminal two years 

later. The 870,000sq ft (80,823m 2 ) 

building will increase capacity by 

20mppa to 65mppa and will have 

car park space for 3,000 vehicles. It 

will be connected to the rest of the 

airport by a monorail system. 

The extra runway will be used mainly 

to allow repairs to be carried out 

on the other two without affecting 

Vancouver 

Opens 

Extended 

Domestic 

Terminal 

THE VANCOUVER Airport Authority 

has inaugurated its A-B Connector, 

expanding the domestic terminal at 

Vancouver International Airport, 

British Columbia, Canada. The 

CAN$213m facility has increased 

gate capacity, provided ten more 

shops and restaurants, added a 

Plaza Premium pay-per-use lounge 

and upgraded the baggage handling 

system – which enables faster 

baggage transfer between domestic 

and international flights. 

Craig Richmond, the authority’s 

President and CEO, said: “We’re 

proud to deliver this project on plan 

and on budget. Vancouver Airport 

is facing increased competition from 

other airports and both travellers 

and airlines have choices. To remain 

competitive and continue to be 

an economic generator and jobs 

creator for British Columbia, we 

must continue to invest in projects 

that make it easier and faster for 

passengers and their baggage to 

move through the airport.” 

flight schedules – and ultimately to 

accommodate traffic growth. 

Meanwhile AoT has been 

restructuring part of the terminal 

interior to provide more space for 

airline lounges. An 18,000sq ft 

(1,672m 2 ) area near Concourse D 

has been set aside for the project and 

will be divided between three carriers 

– Thai Airways International, Bangkok 

Airways and Singapore Airlines as 

well as the Louis’ Tavern Transit 

Hotel. Qatar Airways will also add a 

new lounge – its second outside Doha 

after London/Heathrow, on which it 

will be modelled. 

LAX Qantas Lounge 

AUSTRALIAN FLAG carrier Qantas 

has opened a new First Class 

lounge at Los Angeles International 

Airport. The facility is modelled 

on its existing flagship lounges in 

Melbourne and Sydney and seats 

221 customers. Covering 17,500sq 

ft (1,626m 2 ) the lounge includes a 

74-seat à la carte restaurant, free 

Wi-Fi, business facilities, cable 

television, two private work suites 

and seven shower rooms. Furnishing 

is to a high standard with marbled 

floors, American oak walls, Tai Ping 

wool carpets and a 48ft (14.6m) 

Fly Niki will perform the world’s shortest international flights when it introduces services 

between Vienna and Bratislava. (AirTeamImages.com/Alun Morris Jones) 

FLY NIKI is to introduce the shortest 

international flights in the world after 

opening a base at Bratislava Airport 

in Slovakia. As well as starting flights 

to Brussels and Palma, the carrier 

will fly to its base in Vienna, Austria 

– just 31 miles (50km) away. The 

carrier will position Embraer 190s 

from Vienna to Bratislava, and from 

April 1 will serve the route up to 

six times a week. This will allow 

Carrara marble bar. 

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said 

at the opening: “The new lounge 

is more than triple the size of the 

previous space, and the design and 

service is equal to the world’s best 

five star hotels and restaurants. 

Lounges are important to our 

international customers’ journey, 

which is why we have drawn on the 

knowledge of world leading experts, 

such as designer Marc Newson and 

Qantas chef Neil Perry, to deliver the 

most luxurious experience before 

people even step on board.” 

The bar in the new Qantas lounge at Los Angeles International Airport. (Qantas) 

Bratislava passengers to transfer 

to other Fly Niki services in Vienna. 

The connection to Brussels 

is significant because Slovakia 

assumes the European Union Council 

presidency in July 2016, so the link 

will take on added importance. 

Services to the Belgian capital will 

be by E190s, although the Palma 

flights, due to start on May 2, will 

be by Airbus A320. 

Modular 

Hotel for 

Bristol 

BRISTOL AIRPORT is to have a 

modular hotel, provided by CIMC 

(China International Marine 

Containers) and due to open in 

the spring of next year. It will be 

part of the Hilton Worldwide range 

under the economy Hampton by 

Hilton brand and will be financed 

and owned by CIMC. The hotel, the 

airport’s first, will have 201 rooms. 

The modular technique reduces 

construction time, according 

to CIMC, with the component 

parts manufactured in China 

and then assembled on site. The 

airport’s CEO, Robert Sinclair, 

commented: “The development 

of a high-quality on-site hotel to 

be operated under such a worldrenowned 

brand will be a very 

welcome addition to our facilities 

for the growing number of 

passengers choosing to fly to and 

from Bristol Airport. Alongside 

the terminal extension currently 

under construction, this is another 

statement of our ambition to be 

a world-class regional airport 

serving the southwest of the UK.” 


NEWS 


Metro Link 

for Liberty? 

THE PORT Authority of New York 

and New Jersey has granted a 

$6.4m three-year contract to HNTB 

Corporation to examine a proposal 

to extend the PATH (Port Authority 

Trans-Hudson) Metro to Newark 

Liberty International Airport. 

The authority recommended the 

project in 2012 and has included it 

in its latest $27.6bn ten-year capital 

plan, launched in February. It has 

asked HNTB to come up with a more 

accurate cost estimate for the Metro 

extension, currently estimated at 

$1.5bn. If the go-ahead is given, 

work could start in 2018 and take 

five years to complete. 

The extension would run beside 

the Northeast Corridor main line 

from Newark Penn Station to the 

airport’s mainline station. The 

latter would be an interchange 

between PATH, AirTrain monorail 

and NJ Transit services. 

Bratislava Welcomes flydubai 

Dubai-based flydubai has introduced three flights a week between the Middle East and the Slovakian capital Bratislava. Cutting the ribbon after 

the arrival of the inaugural service from Dubai are, from left to right: Director VIP services Bratislava Airport Dana Madunická, flydubai CEO Ghaith Al 

Ghaith and the airline’s Vice President Commercial Operations Jeyhun Efendi. (Bratislava Airport) 

MARSHALL AVIATION Services, 

the business aviation-focused arm 

of the Marshall Aerospace and 

Defence Group, has acquired the 

executive aviation handling facility 

(FBO) at Birmingham Airport and 

will formally open for business 

within the next few months. The 

company has agreed a long-term 

lease of the FBO which was built 

in 2011 and is to the west of the 

main terminal. The glass-fronted 

444,000sq ft 4,088m 2 ) facility 

includes hangar space, which 

New FBO at Birmingham 

will be available both to resident 

and visiting aircraft. Under the 

previous operator, the facility was 

named Best Handling Agent/FBO 

by industry peers of the Baltic Air 

Charter Association (BACA) in 2013. 

It is regularly used by executive 

charter operators Cello Aviation and 

FlairJet. Marshall Aviation Services’ 

aircraft operations, charter and 

management company, will also 

have a presence and the facility will 

continue to provide fuel via Avfuel. 

The company intends to position the 

facility as a world-class FBO, offering 

comprehensive amenities for both 

flight crew and passengers, including 

crew rest facilities, flight planning 

rooms, prayer room and visitor or 

residential crew offices. Marshall 

is to work closely with Birmingham 

Airport to increase business through 

the FBO, including offering business 

jet travel for premium passengers 

arriving on long-haul flights and 

needing onward connections within 

the UK or Europe. 

Birmingham Airport’s Head of 

Property, Melanie Cameron said: 

“It is a very exciting time for us, with 

record passenger numbers and the 

recent completion of a multi-million 

pound redevelop programme to 

allow for the growth of our long-haul 

route network so we are delighted 

to welcome the Marshall team this 

year. The new operation will provide 

first class facilities for airlines and 

passengers, and aviation business 

services that are much needed in 

the Midlands to support the thriving 

local economy.” 

Lithuanian 

Airports’ 

Record Start 

PASSENGER NUMBERS using 

Lithuania’s airports increased by 

16.5% during January, compared 

with the same month in 2014. 

Kaunas Airport served 29% 

more passengers, Vilnius Airport 

15% and Palanga Airport 0.2%. 

Totals for the three facilities 

were 44,000, 203,500 and 9,000 

passengers respectively. 

Gediminas Almantas, Chief 

Executive Officer of SE 

Lithuanian Airports, said: “The 

beginning of this year is really 

record-breaking for us – the 

number of passengers at all the 

three airports has significantly 

exceeded last year’s result. 

Dedicated Parking in Salzburg 

Women travelling alone have been provided with a dedicated parking area at Salzburg Airport in Austria. 

The ‘Frauenparkplatz’ is on the ground floor close to the exits and is designed to make lone female 

travellers feel more secure by reducing time spent within the multi-storey car park. (Jan Blazej) 

Transatlantic 

A321neo Could 

Help Airports 

AIRBUS OFFICIALLY launched its 

A321neo variant with a 97 tonnes 

maximum take-off weight (MTOW) 

on January 13 after securing its 

first commitment from Air Lease 

Corporation (ALC). This latest variant 

of the A320 Family will have the 

longest range of any single-aisle 

airliner available or in the near 

future, according to the European 

manufacturer, allowing it to fly up 

to 4,598 miles (7,400km) – ideal for 

transatlantic routes. It will also allow 

airlines to tap into new long-haul 

markets that were not previously 

accessible with the current 

generation of single-aisle aircraft. It 

could potentially open opportunities 

for new city pairs across the Atlantic, 

notably for smaller regional airports. 


NEWS 


Australian Master 

Plans Approved 

Workpods Arrive at Gatwick 

THE AUSTRALIAN Government 

has approved four major master 

plans for the airports in Adelaide, 

Brisbane, Canberra and Perth. 

Adelaide is intended to benefit 

from significant investment in 

infrastructure, including expanding 

the southern end of the main 

terminal, increasing the size of the 

international arrivals hall, adding 

more gates, enlarging the security 

screening area, opening more retail 

outlets and airline lounges, building 

a hotel, as well as supporting an 

airport business district. During the 

next five years around AU$1bn will be 

invested, creating up to 3,500 jobs. 

Approval was also granted to 

Brisbane Airport Corporation’s 

(BAC) 20-year master plan for 

the airport in Queenstown. Up to 

AU$3.8bn is to be invested during 

the next decade to expand the 

terminal and improve transport 

infrastructure and includes a fiveyear 

environment strategy. The 

projects will enable the airport to 

handle up to 48mppa by 2034. 

Julieanne Alroe, BAC’s CEO and 

Managing Director said: “We are very 

pleased the Australian Government 

has approved our 20-year vision for 

Brisbane Airport which will help us 

achieve our goal of becoming a more 

important gateway for Australia 

in the future. We’re particularly 

proud of the extensive consultative 

approach taken with this master 

plan and efforts to present the 

community with comprehensive 

aircraft noise information, setting 

a benchmark in this field.” 

Meanwhile Perth Airport in 

Western Australia is celebrating 

the approval of its master plan. 

It includes adding a third runway, 

a rail link to the city and a new 

international pier over the next 

five years. Brad Geatches, Perth 

Airport’s CEO said: “The master 

plan recognises the airport needs 

to develop integrated proposals that 

complement Perth’s broader urban 

and infrastructure ideas, and take 

into account the impact of airport 

development on surrounding 

communities and the environment.” 

Finally the government has also 

approved Canberra Airport’s 2014 

Master Plan, outlining its strategic 

direction for the next 20 years. This 

includes a focus on attracting more 

flights to international destinations 

and increasing services by LCCs. 

Improvements to taxiways and 

aprons as well as transportation and 

road infrastructure are also outlined. 

Deputy Prime Minister and 

Minister for Infrastructure and 

Regional Development Warren 

Truss commented: “Canberra 

Airport boasts the nation’s newest 

passenger terminal and the 

commencement of international 

flights as outlined in the 2014 Master 

Plan will be an important step in 

promoting the Canberra region as a 

jewel in the nation’s tourism crown.” 

The Regus Workpod has been introduced in the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport, offering 

business travellers a quite place to work before flying. (Regus) 

WORKPLACE PROVIDER Regus has 

introduced its first Workpods at 

Gatwick Airport. Situated airside 

in the South Terminal, the pods 

are a private workspace, tailormade 

to provide business travellers 

somewhere quiet to work whilst 

waiting for their flight. Each pod 

gives access to Wi-Fi, a comfortable 

desk and seat, power and mobile 

chargers, computer screen and a 

telephone for UK calls. Users can 

book the Workpod on the spot using 

a credit card or online on the Regus 

website in advance. Half an hour 

costs £10 plus VAT. 

Global Managing Director of Regus 

Third Place, Phil Kemp said: “Workpods 

offer business travellers everything 

they need when working on the move: 

a quiet space to check emails, make 

that last call or concentrate on urgent 

work before they fly. We know that 

more and more people need to work 

on the move, and this is another way 

of helping our customers maximise 

their productivity.” 

London Gatwick’s Chief Commercial 

Officer, Guy Stephenson, added: 

“Business travel continues to grow at 

Gatwick, with one in five passengers 

now travelling on business to a range 

of destinations. The Regus Workpods 

will be another key addition to the 

modern new facilities we offer 

business passengers every step of 

the way from the office to the plane.” 

It is planned to introduce the 

Workpods in the Gatwick North 

terminal this year. 

Fortnum & Mason at Heathrow 

Among the new luxury brands recently unveiled at London/Heathrow’s Terminal 5 are Louis Vuitton, Cartier, Rolex, Bottega Veneta and 

Fortnum & Mason. This marks the culmination of a £40m investment that has raised the number of fashion and luxury brands to 22. The 

first Fortnum & Mason store and bar at an airport is an exciting world exclusive for Heathrow. (Fortnum & Mason) 

LAX Satellite 

Award 

LOS ANGELES World Airports 

(LAWA) has placed a $960m 

contract with a Turner-PCL joint 

venture, in collaboration with 

Corgan and Gensler, for the design 

and construction of its Midfield 

Satellite Concourse (MSC) North at 

Los Angeles International Airport. 

Work will be split into two phases 

and should be completed in 2020. 

Sited 1,300ft (396m) west of 

the Tom Bradley International 

Terminal (TBIT), the satellite 

will feature an 800,000sq ft 

(74,320m 2 ) five-level concourse 

with 11 gates and will be able 

to handle Code F aircraft – the 

Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8I. 

Airport infrastructure, such as 

new taxiways, aprons, utilities 

and surface roads, will also be 

included. The MSC will be linked 

to the TBIT by a tunnel. 


INDUSTRY COLUMN 

BRUCE HALES-DUTTON 

Unmanned 

As access to remotely piloted air systems becomes available to the 

masses, Bruce Hales-Dutton examines the risks they pose to commercial 

aviation after a close encounter near London/Heathrow last year. 

and 

Remotely-piloted 

aircraft or systems, 

more commonly 

if not quite 

correctly referred 

to as ‘drones’, 

are becomingly 

increasingly 

common as 

prices drop and 

capabilities increase. 

(Wikimedia 

Commons/ 

Jaypatravali) 

The word ‘drone’ is frequently in the 

news these days. Usually it refers to 

military unmanned aerial systems 

but commercially available remotely 

piloted vehicles are becoming increasingly 

popular – whether for fun or for business 

purposes, but there’s now growing concern 

that in the wrong hands they could pose a 

serious threat to civil aviation. 

Last July there was a serious airprox 

incident near London/Heathrow involving 

an Airbus A320 and an unidentified object, 

believed to have been a small radiocontrolled 

helicopter. Although the incident 

was not that widely reported, the release 

in December of the UK Airprox Board’s 

findings about the encounter, generated 

considerable publicity. Inevitably, there 

was some consternation within the industry, 

especially when it was realised that there’d 

been a similar incident earlier in the year, 

coupled with reports of booming sales of 

such models. 

To those who still regard model aircraft 

as flimsy confections of balsa wood and 

tissue paper which reward their builders, if 

they’re skilful or lucky enough, with a few 

stuttering yards of flight, this might have 

seemed somewhat surprising. But new 

technology is transforming them. Suddenly 

model aircraft have become unmanned 

aerial vehicles or as the media loves to label 

them, drones. Such craft have morphed 

into a threat to life and limb, especially 

when they blunder into controlled airspace 

and come into conflict with airliners. 

The Airprox Board, which investigates 

reports of near mid-air collisions filed by 

pilots and air traffic controllers, considered 

there was a definite risk of collision when 

“a small black object” came too close to an 

airliner approaching London’s Heathrow 

airport. The pilot of the A320 on short 

finals for Runway 09L reported passing 

through 700ft (213m) when he saw what 

appeared to be a small radio-controlled 

helicopter. It passed just 20ft (6m) over 

the airliner’s wing. 

In dry official prose the board’s report 

noted: “the object did not strike his aircraft 

and he made a normal landing, but it was 

a distraction during a critical phase of 

flight.” It added: “ATC was informed of the 

object’s presence and following aircraft 

were notified.” 

When they considered the incident, 

which happened in July 2014, the board’s 

members were “satisfied that the A320 

crew had seen a model helicopter.” They 

were unanimous “that the operator of the 

model had chosen to fly it in an entirely 

inappropriate location.” Due to the risk 

posed by the event the board placed 

it into its category A, the most serious 

of three. The report noted: “That the 

dangers associated with flying such a 

model in close proximity to a commercial 

air transport aircraft in the final stages 

of landing were not self-evident was a 

cause for considerable concern. Members 

re-iterated that anyone operating an air 

vehicle of whatever kind had to do so with 

due consideration for regulation 

and for other airspace users, 

and preferably under the 

auspices of an established 

association or club.” 

A jointly-issued statement 

by the British Airline Pilots’ 

Association (BALPA), the Association 

of Remotely Piloted Air Systems (ARPAS- 

UK), the British Model Flying Association 

(BMFA) and drone training specialists 

EuroUSC and Resource Group said: “Drones 

are a growing technology which we believe 

is here to stay.” The statement noted that 

such craft brought “significant” potential 

economic, technological and societal 

benefits. But, it added: “The safety of 

people both in the air and on the ground 

must come first.” 

In May 2014 the pilot of an ATR turboprop 

reported seeing a helicopter drone only 

80ft (24m) away as he approached 

Southend airport at a height of 1,500ft 

(457m). Jim McAuslan, BALPA’s general 

secretary said: “A small drone could be a 

risky distraction for a pilot coming in to 

land and cause serious damage if they hit 

one. The risk of a 22lb [10kg] object hitting 

a plane is a real one that pilots are very 

concerned about.” The Airport Operator’s 

Association declined to comment. 

According to the BBC News website, 

commercially available drones are in 

great demand, with UK sales running at 

a rate of between 1,000 and 2,000 every 

month. “They are expected to be very 

popular Christmas presents,” the BBC 

noted in December.” One police force felt 

sufficiently concerned about the prospect 

of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) 

for ‘kids of all ages’ to issue a statement 

just before Christmas warning against the 

indiscriminate use of such devices. Those 

‘lucky enough’ to be given an RPAS need to 

be aware that it should only be operated in 

accordance with the law, Essex police said. 

The appropriately-named RC Geeks, based 

at Crawley in West Sussex close to Gatwick 

Airport, advertises a range of ‘quadcopters’ 

priced from £36 to £940. The top of the 

range Phantom Plus v 3.0 with its four 

battery-driven rotors offers 25 minutes of 

flight time, weighs 43oz (1,242g) and has a 

motor-to-motor diagonal measurement of 

14 inches (35cm). According to the retailer, 


INDUSTRY COLUMN 

BRUCE HALES-DUTTON 

Dangerous 

this device “is simple to set up and easy 

to fly, making it the first aerial film-making 

system for everyone”. It adds: “Now you 

can shoot fully stabilised video from the sky, 

right out of the box.” The built-in three-axis 

camera stabilisation system is claimed to 

bring “a whole new level of smoothness to 

your aerials and gives you total creative 

freedom in the sky”. 

So who would want access to such aerial 

creativity? According to the on-line 

Property Industry Eye newsletter, drones 

are increasingly being used by ‘high end’ 

estate agents as a cheaper alternative to 

helicopter hire to get aerial shots. 

The UK CAA has pointed out that under 

the Air Navigation Order it’s illegal to 

fly unmanned aircraft over a congested 

area or within 164ft (50m) of a person, 

vehicle, building or structure. The CAA 

warns that it will prosecute people using 

drones for commercial purposes without 

a licence. To get permission, companies 

have to submit an operations manual 

to the CAA demonstrating how they 

intend to use the unmanned aircraft. In 

addition, the person using the device 

has to be qualified, having passed an 

approved training course. They also 

need liability insurance. 

Meanwhile, the University of 

Birmingham’s Policy Commission has 

conducted research into remotely piloted 

aircraft led by Sir David Omand, a former 

head of the GCHQ intelligence centre. 

There are, it says, significant safety, 

security and privacy concerns: drones 

could be used for criminal or terrorist 

purposes. It wants urgent measures to 

safeguard British airspace and privacy. 

Unmanned aircraft are reported to have 

been flown over major cities and towns as 

well as at a variety of public events, such 

as football matches. The BBC quoted Chris 

Wilkinson, director of a Nottingham-based 

company which uses drones to film legally, 

as warning that, with such devices now 

easier to obtain, “in the wrong hands they 

could cause injury or death”. 

The CAA insists that the Heathrow and 

Southend incidents are the only recent ones 

to involve miniature aircraft and airliners. 

It was, though, sufficiently concerned 

to issue a leaflet specifically directed at 

model helicopter operators, warning them 

to stay well clear of airports and airfields. 

Operators, it says, are legally responsible 

for the safe conduct of each flight. It added 

its campaign has been supported by the 

BMFA. “They’ve been very supportive,” 

an authority spokesman told Airports of 

the World. The association says its policy 

is to support lawful model flying which 

includes recreational aerial photography and 

“first person view” while distancing itself 

from unlawful activity. But it acknowledges 

that the latest technology has blurred the 

distinction between traditional sporting 

and recreational model flying and aerial 

work, which is not recognised as being 

anything to do with model aircraft. There is, 

the association, says, a grey area between 

the two existing definitions. As a result, 

there will be a new category called data, 

development and display activity which 

can trigger an extension of the £25 million 

insurance cover offered to members. 

The BMFA says the new technology has 

changed what’s possible with model aircraft 

with the “ready availability of equipment 

capable of capturing high-quality stills 

and film footage in easy-to-operate and 

often ready-to-fly packages”. But there 

are indications that technology has the 

potential to make incidents, such as the 

recent Heathrow airprox, a thing of the past. 

At least one manufacturer of quadcopters 

is embedding global positioning system 

co-ordinates into its devices to ensure they 

can’t blunder into airport control zones and 

others may follow. 

The CAA spokesman said: “If an attempt 

is made to operate the aircraft within a 

CTZ [Controlled Traffic Zone] it won’t 

take off.” That’s reassuring no doubt, 

but in the US things seem to be moving 

in a different direction. Small unmanned 

aircraft have been reported flying near 

airports and aircraft across the US. 

This has prompted calls for low-altitude 

airspace to be opened up to legal drone 

activity (Ed: presumably so it can be 

controlled and monitored?). 

NASA is developing a system to provide 

UAV users with an internet portal to file 

trajectories and check them for weather, 

obstacles and other traffic. Airspace 

operators will be able to geo-fence areas, 

authenticate users and issue an ‘all land’ 

order in an emergency. Early work on the 

web interface has begun in Alaska. 

The fact is that whatever we choose to call 

them, remotely controlled aircraft, whether 

flying for pleasure or commercial purposes, 

are here to stay. So we’d better get used to 

them and come up with ways to ensure 

safety isn’t compromised. 

The risk of a 

‘drone’ colliding 

with a commercial 

airliner is very real. 

Everything must 

be done to prevent 

their use in sensitive 

areas. (Key – Barry 

Woods-Turner) 


FEATURE 

BELFAST 

Belfast 

International 

The primary airport serving much of Northern Ireland is 

Belfast International. Paul B Anderson discovers it 

is striving to increase its range of destinations. 

Low-cost 

carrier easyJet 

began serving 

BFS in 1998 and 

has increased its 

flights considerably. 

Airbus A319-111 

G-EZBF (c/n 2923) 

comes in to land. 

(AirTeamImages. 

com/Danish 

Aviation Photo) 

Buses provide 

a public transport 

option to the city 

centre and there is 

a possibility a rail 

connection might 

eventually be added. 

(All photos author 

unless stated) 


FEATURE 

BELFAST 

Arriving at Belfast International 

Airport you can get the 

impression of either a very busy 

place or one that is quite the 

opposite. It all depends upon the time 

of day. If you arrive early in the morning 

it will be very busy at check-in, security 

and in the shops and refreshment outlets. 

The airline with the most flights, easyJet, 

has many early morning departures. The 

sole intercontinental flight of the day, 

to Newark/Liberty, New Jersey, departs 

at about 11:00 and employs the largest 

aircraft to use the airport on a regular 

basis – a United Airlines Boeing 757- 

200. After all these departures, activity 

tapers off and is spread throughout the 

afternoon and early evening. The late 

evening arrivals, again mostly easyJet 

flights, keep things busy in the baggage 

claim area up until midnight. 

History 

The airport site was originally selected 

in November 1917 as a Royal Flying Corps 

training site during World War One. It 

became RAF Aldergrove upon the formation 

of the Royal Air Force the following year. 

Hangars and buildings from the military 

days can be seen opposite today’s terminal. 

Civil traffic began in 1922 with newspaper 

flights and in 1933 scheduled passenger 

services started with connections to 

Glasgow by Midland and Scottish Air 

Ferries. During World War Two, RAF 

Aldergrove was used by Coastal Command. 

The four runways were too short for the 

largest aircraft and two longer ones were 

constructed. These form the basis of the 

present runway configuration. 

There was an interim period after the 

conflict when another wartime airfield, 

Nutts Corner (only three miles away) 

was used as Belfast’s civil airport. This 

airfield was too small for the emerging 

turboprop and jet aircraft and could not 

easily be expanded. A decision was made 

to return civil activity to Aldergrove and 

a terminal and apron, along with car 

parks and related facilities were built. 

The transfer of flights from Nutts Corner 

took place on September 26, 1963 and 

the first passenger service to land at 

A multi-language welcome to Belfast greets 

passengers as they leave the airport. 


FEATURE 

BELFAST 

The obligatory newsagent provides passengers with a last chance to pick up something to read on their flight. 

A busy time at check-in, with the easyJet desks in the foreground. (Wikimedia Commons/Ardfern) 

Airline and Destinations 

Carrier 

Destinations 

easyJet 

Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Birmingham, Bordeaux, Bristol, 

Edinburgh, Faro, Gatwick, Geneva, Glasgow, Ibiza, Jersey, Krakow, 

Liverpool, London/Luton, London/Stansted, Malaga, Malta, Manchester, 

Newcastle, Nice, Palma Majorca, Paris/CDG 

Jet2.com 

Alicante, Dubrovnik, Geneva, Faro, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Menorca, Malaga, 

Murcia, Palma Majorca, Pisa, Reus, Tenerife 

Thomas Cook Alicante, Antalya, Bodrum, Dalaman, Faro, Heraklion, Ibiza, Lanzarote, 

Larnaca, Las Palmas, Mahon, Palma, Reus, Tenerife 

Thomas Cook Airlines Orlando 

Thomson Airways Burgas, Dalaman, Faro, Grenoble, Ibiza, Lanzarote, Lapland, Las Palmas, 

Lourdes, Menorca, Malaga, Palma, Reus, Tenerife 

United Airlines Newark/Liberty 

Aldergrove was a British European Airways 

(BEA) Vickers Viscount from Manchester. 

The formal opening took place on 

October 28, 1963 when The Queen 

dedicated the new terminal. Regular jet 

services started on January 4, 1966 with 

a British United BAC One-Eleven flight 

to London/Gatwick. Two years later, Aer 

Lingus and British Overseas Airways 

Corporation (BOAC) introduced jet flights 

to New York; the Aer Lingus service went 

via Shannon and the BOAC connection via 

Glasgow/Prestwick. 

In 1969, passenger numbers reached the 

one million mark for the first time and 

the following year a plan was unveiled to 

extend the main Runway 07/25 by more 

than 3,000ft (915m) to 9,121ft (2,780m). 

A new organisation, Northern Ireland 

Airports, took over running the facility 

from the UK Department of Trade and 

Industry in 1971. 

A 747 Jumbo Jet was used on a charter 

flight to Toronto, Canada, via Shannon, 

on July 3, 1977, proving the airport 

could handle large aircraft, if necessary. 

Expansion into the European market came 

in 1980 when KLM Cityhopper introduced 

flights from Amsterdam/Schiphol. 

The airport was renamed Belfast 

International (BFS) in 1983 and in the 

same year a dedicated international 

pier was completed. Check-in facilities 

were relocated and the first travelator 

installed. In 1984 passenger numbers 

reached 1.5 million and the same year 

BFS welcomed British Midland flights from 

London/Heathrow, which competed with 

British Airways. Three years later annual 

passenger numbers reached two million. 

(Not for airborne or 

operational use – 

Navtech Aerad) 


FEATURE 

BELFAST 

Privatisation came to BFS on July 20, 

1984. A management buy-out created 

Belfast International Airport Holdings 

and among its first investments was a 

new cargo centre, which opened in 1991. 

Another change of ownership occurred 

on August 13, 1996 when BFS was sold to 

TBI, a subsidiary of Airport Concessions 

and Development Limited (ACDL), 

owned by Spanish companies Abertis 

Infraestructuras SA and AENA Desarrollo 

Internacional SA. 

The low cost sector made its debut at 

BFS in 1998 when London/Luton-based 

easyJet introduced flights. It helped boost 

demand and the following year the airport 

welcomed three million passengers for 

the first time and by 2004 it had soared 

to 4.5 million. 

During the ‘Farewell to the UK’ tour of 

the British Airways Concorde fleet, Chief 

Concorde pilot, Mike Bannister, flew aircraft 

G-BOAC, into Belfast International for a 

day of celebration of the aircraft’s career. 

The Maldron Hotel adjacent to the airport is especially useful for passengers with early morning departures. 

Originally introduced by Continental Airlines and 

now run under the United Airlines name, the 

daily flight to Newark/Liberty provides a direct 

link to New York from Northern Ireland. 

(AirTeamImages.com/Dave Sturges) 

As an easyJet Airbus A319 departs, some of the 

former RAF Aldergrove infrastructure can be seen in 

the background. 

A good-size duty free store offers a wide range of products. 

Several eateries are available, including this fast food option. 

Ownership changed again when TBI was 

taken over by parent ACDL on January 5, 

2005. On May 27 that year Continental 

Airlines introduced daily direct flights 

from Newark/Liberty. The following 

year annual passenger numbers hit 

five million. More recently The Queen 

officially marked the completion of a 

terminal upgrade project in October, 

2010. The latest chapter in the airport’s 

ownership was completed on October 

1, 2013 when it was acquired by the 

Canadian firm Airport Development 

Corporation (ADC) and Houston Airport 

System (HAS). This collaboration also 

owns other facilities in the US, South 

America and Scandinavia. 

Today’s airport 

There is a sensation of being out in the 

country at BFS. It is 13 miles (22 km) 

northwest of the city centre, surrounded 

by farms. There are two small villages in the 

vicinity; Aldergrove to the west and Killead to 

the east. If you have an early morning flight, 

the Maldron Hotel is adjacent to the airport. 

The terminal has two levels with the 

airside upper floor mainly used by 


FEATURE 

BELFAST 

Airport Statistics 

ICAO Code: 

IATA Code: 

Location: 

Elevation: 

Runway: 

EGAA 

BFS 

54° 39.27’ N, 006° 12.56’ W 

268ft (82m) 

07/25 9,121 x 148ft 

(2,780 x 45m) 

17/35 6,401 x 148ft 

(1,951 x 45m) 

Frequencies: ATIS: 128.2 

Tower: 118.3 

Ground: 121.75 

Approach: 128.5 

Website: www.belfastairport.com 

departing passengers and the ground 

floor for arrivals. The building has been 

used for many years, but renovated 

and modernised several times. There 

is a range of restaurants and shops, as 

well as a business lounge, run by the 

airport. In addition to airport-run car 

parks, additional facilities are available 

off site. There are several car rental firm 

counters in the arrivals area. 

Road access from the city is excellent 

with plenty of taxis available and frequent 

bus services to the Europa Bus Centre. 

There is currently no rail connection 

to the airport but there are plans for 

one which could be open as early as 

2020. This would involve reactivating a 

mothballed line, the old Lisburn to Antrim 

route, which runs close to the airport. 

Infrastructure 

Both runways are 148ft (46m) wide and 

there is a full-length parallel taxiway. 

The shorter crosswind runway is 17/35 

which measures 6,401ft (1,951m). The ATC 

tower is equipped with a terminal radar 

facility to provide surveillance radar for 

controllers. 

The cargo area is near the passenger 

terminal and BFS is the main cargo 

airport for all of Northern Ireland. 

Primary freight carriers are currently 

DHL and TNT. 

Holiday/charter 

flights form an 

important part of the 

airport’s business, as 

illustrated by Thomas 

Cook Airlines 


G-TCAD (c/n 2114). 


com/Simon Wilson) 

There is still some limited military 

activity on the old RAF site, notably in 

the large hangar facilities along with 

other support structures. 

Future 

It is the operator’s goal to attract 

additional airlines and new services 

provided demand continues to grow. 

With its long runway, BFS is able to handle 

flights to intercontinental destinations 

and Europe without load penalties. 

The runway could be lengthened if 

demand for more far off destinations, 

such as Asia, was to materialise. This 

would require a length of up to 11,800ft 

(3,597m). The longest runway in the 

neighbouring Republic of Ireland is at 

Shannon (10,500ft – 3,200m). Dublin’s 

runway is only 8,652ft (2,637m). Its 

operator has ambitions to secure longhaul 

flights to the Far East, including 

China, and has announced plans for a new 

12,000ft (3,658m) runway to be built by 

the end of the decade. If it is completed 

it could scupper similar possibilities at 

BFS because Belfast and Dublin are well 

connected across the border. 

In 2013 Belfast International celebrated 

its 50th year as the primary aerial gateway 

to Northern Ireland. As it begins its second 

half century, it is well placed to provide an 

increasing range of destinations and 

efficient service. 

Several easyJet flights await departure at BFS before sun rise – up to a 

dozen of the carrier’s service leave early in the morning. 


FEATURE 

SAIPAN 

Saipan 

Asia’s Corfu 

China 

Philippines 

Marco Finelli travels to the Western Pacific and visits a 

paradise with a very violent past – Saipan, one of the 

Mariana Islands. 

Everyone likes a holiday, but in 

most Asian countries’ workers get 

much shorter breaks than their 

counterparts in Europe or North 

America. So they don’t want to waste time 

travelling long distances to find somewhere 

to relax. Enter Saipan – the largest island of 

the US Commonwealth Northern Mariana 

Islands (CNMI) – just a relatively short 

flight from Seoul or Taipei. It has become 

very popular with Japanese, Chinese and 

Korean tourists eager to find some ‘sun and 

fun’. Increasing numbers of budget airlines 

are flying to Saipan’s international airport 

(SPN) to satisfy this demand. 

History 

Saipan is probably best known as the site 

of some horrifically fierce battles during 

World War Two as the US military pushed 

the Japanese Empire back to the west, 

across the Pacific. The idyllic beaches now 

so popular with holidaymakers were once 

the scene of total carnage after US forces 

landed on June 15, 1944. The battle for 

the islands raged until July 9 and cost the 

lives of 3,426 Americans, with more than 

Delta Air Lines 

employs Boeing 

757-200s on its 

flights to Tokyo/ 

Narita. (All photos 

author) 

10,000 injured. Of the 30,000 Japanese 

defenders, only 921 were taken alive, and 

a further 20,000 Japanese civilians are 

thought to have died. 

The island’s capture was a significant one 

during the war in the Pacific, as an airfield 

was established from which US Army Air 

Force Boeing B-29 Superfortresses could 

launch bombing raids against the Japanese 

mainland. Remnants of the battle can 

still be seen – from shelters and bunkers 

to abandoned tanks at the water’s edge. 

In 1933, the Imperial Japanese Navy 

established a landing strip at the southern 

tip of the island for training purposes. In 

1937 the navy began expanding As Lito 

Field for full military operations, despite an 

international law prohibiting the construction 

of military facilities in the Western Pacific. 

After Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in Hawaii 

on December 7, 1941, bringing the US into 

World War Two, two squadrons of Mitsubishi 

A6M Zeros were based on the island. 

However, they were decimated during the 

American invasion in 1944 in what became 

known as the ‘Great Marianas Turkey Shoot’ 

when the overwhelming strength of the US 

Australia 

Navy carrier force practically wiped out its 

Japanese opponent in a matter of days. 

An estimated 645 Japanese aircraft were 

destroyed and three of its fleet carriers 

sunk; a decisive blow from which it never 

recovered. 

The Americans took control of the airfield 

on June 18, 1944 and promptly renamed it 

Isley Field. Once the islands were secure 

new facilities were built quickly and a 

further three airfields constructed to house 

the B-29 bombers. Once hostilities ended 

the following year, the name reverted to As 

Lito Field, the bombers left for home and 

the site returned to civilian use, although a 

military presence remained into the 1990s. 

The islands were administered by the US 

as part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific 

Islands until 1978, when they became a 

municipality of the CNMI. 

In 1971, the then Mariana Islands District 

of the Trust Territory decided to develop 

the island as a tourist destination after the 

district became eligible to apply for a grant 

for airport development under 

the National Airport Airways 

Development Program. 


FEATURE 

SAIPAN 

The terminal dates from the 1970s and relies 

heavily on concrete, although the steep red roof 

is reflective of the island’s architecture. 

United Express serves Guam, where passengers 

can connect to the main United Airlines network. 


ICAO code: 

IATA code: 

Location: 

Elevation: 

Runways: 

PGSN 

SPN 

15º 07.08´ N, 145º 43.45´ E 

215ft (66m) 

07/25 8,700 x 200ft 

(2,652 x 61m) 


Tower: 125.7 

Ground: 121.8 


Website: www.cpa.gov.mp 


FEATURE 

SAIPAN 

(Not for airborne/operational use – Navtech Aerad) 

The departure lounge features these aircraft models suspended from the ceiling. 

Undaunted by the requirement that local 

governments must fund a quarter of the cost, 

the islands pressed ahead, with the support 

of several airlines, the local tourism industry, 

and the Mariana Islands District Legislature. 

An airline technical committee, which 

included Continental Air Micronesia, 

Japan Airlines and officials of the Mariana 

Islands District Government, was created 

to oversee the airport project. When Isley 

Field was selected as the site of the new 

facility, the committee worked on the design 

of the terminal – one of the best features 

of which was its sweeping rooflines. 

Construction work began in 1972, the new 

Saipan International Airport was completed 

in 1975, and it opened to traffic on July 25, 

1976. Flights moved from another former 

US wartime facility at Kobler Field, from 

Asiana Airlines 

Boeing 767-38E 

HL7515 (c/n 

25762) climbs 

away from Saipan 

on its way home to 

Seoul/Incheon. 

Arctic Circle 

Britten-Norman 

BN2 Islander 

N675AC unloads 

its passengers after 

arriving from Tinian. 

where Air Mike and Air Micronesia (later 

Continental Micronesia) had introduced 

flights in 1968. Initially Air Mike had its 

main hub at Kobler Field, but it then moved 

to SPN. The carrier’s traffic to and from 

Saipan had decreased due to the breakup 

of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands 

during the 1970s, when they were divided 

into smaller political entities. Despite a 

downturn in local demand, Continental 

Micronesia continued to fly to Japan and 

the Philippines. However, the route to 

Manila was finally dropped in July 2008. 

Japanese carriers began flying to the 

island in the 1970s as the lure of the Pacific 

island’s beaches became popular, the 

flight time from Osaka and Nagoya being 

relatively short. Adaptations were made so 

that the airport could handle widebody 

airliners. Japan Airlines stopped serving 

Saipan in 2005, and its former routes are 

now in the hands of Delta Air Lines. 

The airport’s busiest years so far have 

been 1997 and 1998, when passenger 

numbers were around 1.6mppa. However, 

the effects of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, 

global economic instability and indifferent 

levels of competition saw a slight downturn 

in subsequent years. 

Recent developments 

In 2005, SPN was renamed to recognise 

former Lieutenant Governor Francisco C 

Ada. Meanwhile on the neighbouring island 

of Tinian, the Dynasty Hotel and Casino, 

which opened in 1998, was attracting 

increasing numbers of wealthy guests from 

China and Taiwan. As a consequence, 


FEATURE 

SAIPAN 

Saipan benefitted from more flights from 

both countries and subsequently these 

were joined by services from South Korea. 

Then, in 2008, a greater number of Russian 

travellers began arriving and, unlike most 

Asian visitors, generally staying longer. The 

latest carriers to fly to SPN include Jeju Air 

(South Korea), EVA Air (Taiwan), Sichuan 

Airlines (China) and Orenair (Russia). 

Several improvements to the terminal 

have been undertaken, including a new 

boarding area with seven airbridges. A 

renovation project began in 2009 and 

work included improvements to the 

roof’s drainage, the replacement of two 

airbridges and six of the stand lighting 

guides for pilots. A new baggage handling 

system is to be installed to meet the 

latest TSA standards and there will be 

improvements to airfield drainage, a new 

generator for the terminal, and back-up 

generators for the ATC tower and the fire 

and rescue service building. 

There is a single runway (07/25), 

measuring 8,700ft (2,652m), that is 

equipped with an ILS. Six parking stands 

are available and the apron can handle 

aircraft as large as a 747. 

Terminal 

The terminal is built on a base of basalt 

rock from a lava flow, testament to the fact 

the islands are close to the ‘ring of fire’, 

the active volcanic and seismic ring which 

surrounds the Pacific Ocean. One positive 

to this has been the elimination of the 

need for much foundation work, given the 

solid footings of the structure. Departing 

passengers check-in, pass through security 

screening and then use a bridge to reach 

the airside departure lounge. There are 

several airside concessions, including 

shops, a duty free store and refreshment 

outlets; there is also a business lounge. 

For arriving passengers, a pair of baggage 

belts are sufficient. 

A small cafe 

is among the 

amenities in the 

departure lounge. 

Baggage 

reclaim in the main 

terminal is equipped 

with two belts. 

Two of Dynamic 

Airways Boeing 767- 

200s parked on the 

Saipan apron. 

The original structure is retained to the 

left of the main terminal, and is used for 

inter-island flights to Tinian and Rota. 

Dating from the 1970s, it is rather Spartan, 

has no cafes or bars, just check-in desks for 

carriers Star Marianas and Arctic Circle. 

There are no flight information display 

screens, as the schedules for the daytime 

flights are well known locally. 

Schedules 

The busiest time for flights is during the 

night. This is mostly because Asian carriers 

tend to focus on business flights during the 

day and leisure/holiday services at night. 

Up to 20 weekly domestic connections to 

Guam are provided by United Express ATR 

42-300s (managed by Cape Air); some 

also stop in Rota. These flights allow 

connections via United’s hub at Guam 

(see Airports of the World, issue 12, p76). 

Delta Air Lines has two daily 757-200 

services to Tokyo/Narita, one in the 

Passenger Statistics 

Year Passengers 

2009 844,278 

2010 851,943 

2011 792,682 

2012 986,392 

2013 1,002,039 

2014 987,915* 

*January 1 until September 30. 


FEATURE 

SAIPAN 

During the author’s visit, China Southern Airlines Boeing 

737-81B B-1918 (c/n 38915) passed through on 

delivery from Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington. 


FEATURE 

SAIPAN 

afternoon and the other during the night. 

The carrier’s Nagoya connection runs 

on Saturday nights. Asiana Airlines is 

cleared to fly to Japan as second operator 

and runs a night-time link to Osaka/ 

Kansai using either an A321 or a 767; 

it also flies to Hiroshima on Saturdays 

using an A321. The carrier’s connections 

from Seoul/Incheon are provided by a 

nightly A330-300 or 767-300ER, and by 

thrice-weekly afternoon A321 flights. 

Asiana also flies a twice-weekly link from 

the South Korean city of Busan. South 

Korea’s Jeju Air introduced budget 737- 

800 flights from Seoul/Incheon last 

October. An interesting competitor on the 

Seoul/Incheon-Saipan route is Dynamic 

Airways, using a pair of 767-200 that are 

often parked at SPN; the charter airline 

has also served Hong Kong, Tianjin, 

Wuhan and Hangzhou in China. 

China Eastern Airlines flies from Beijing 

six times a week using A330-300s, 

again arriving during the night and from 

Shanghai/Pudong Airport. Sichuan Airlines 

offers connections from Guangzhou. 

Orenair 737-800 services began in 2008 

from Khabarovsk and Vladivostok and 

have proved increasingly popular – there 

are now six a week. Regular cargo services 

are provided by 727-200Fs of Asia Pacific 

Airlines, based in Guam. 

The airport’s strategic location in 

the western Pacific makes it a popular 

refuelling stop for aircraft delivery flights, 

notably for Boeing products heading to 

Asian customers. 

Future 

A recent First Hawaiian Bank report 

showed increasing visitor numbers to 

the islands. The combined market share 

Asia Pacific 

Airlines Boeing 

727-212F N86425 

(c/n 21459), prior 

to departure on 

another cargo flight. 

Small General 

Aviation types are 

a common sight, 

scuttling between 

the various islands. 

Star Marianas 

passengers checkin 

for an interisland 

flight at the 

domestic terminal. 

from countries such as China, South Korea 

and Japan is about 90%. However, it 

is the number of Chinese visitors that 

is increasing, while those from Japan 

are declining. The first upturn in annual 

passenger numbers for several years came 

in 2012, when a 17% increase over the 

previous year was recorded (see table 

on p27). 

The passing of a law in March 2014 to 

permit gambling has attracted 

considerable interest from investors and 

future projections add up to a possible 

requirement for 2,000 additional hotel 

rooms. The first development phase is 

planned for 2017-2020 with 401 new 

rooms and a casino to be built. At the 

same time the release of further licences 

for new casinos is planned for Tinian. All 

of this bodes well for Saipan International 

– more flights and more passengers. 


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AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE 

DOHA 

Lounge 

The Al Mourjan 

Luigi Vallero samples Qatar 

Airways’ new oasis for premium travellers 

at Doha’s Hamad International Airport. 

Qatar Airways’ premium class 

passengers are now able to 

enjoy the long-awaited lounges 

the carrier has been heavily 

investing in to ensure its luxury offering on 

the ground matches its already exceptional 

passenger experience in the air. This 

development followed the opening of Doha’s 

Hamad International Airport on May 27, 

2014 which enabled the carrier to transfer 

its flights from the old Doha International 

Airport to the new world-class facility. 

Quality 

Situated on the terminal’s level 3, and 

is easily accessed by an escalator one 

floor up from departures, the Al Mourjan 

Business Lounge opened in August last 

year and is described by the carrier as 

“one of the largest lounges in the world”, 

and from a passenger’s perspective it is 

indeed vast. Spanning over two storeys 

and covering 107,642sq ft (10,000m 2 ), 

it occupies the same space as ten 

Olympic-size swimming pools and can 

accommodate up to 1,000 guests at a 

time. They can choose from a variety of 

spaces designed to suit every need, be 

it enjoying a drink, catching a nap in one 

of the quiet rooms, taking time out in a 

family room or indulging their taste buds 

in a choice of dining areas. 



DOHA 

The spiral 

staircase leading 

to the restaurant 

on the mezzanine 

level rises up over 

the infinity pool. 

(Qatar Airways) 

An all-day food 

court is well staffed 

and provides a 

wide range of 

meals. 

One of the 

many buffets on 

offer within the 

facility. 

Qatar Airways’ CEO Akbar al Baker said 

at the launch of the new lounge: “Qatar 

Airways does not compromise on quality 

and the Al Mourjan lounge is the perfect 

example of this as it is the epitome of 

comfort, convenience and five-star service 

that our premium class passengers have 

come to expect from us. We look forward 

to welcoming them to this superior lounge 

experience.” 

During a recent visit as a connecting 

passenger the author was immediately and 

pleasantly struck by the overall elegance 

and attention to minute detail that the 

designers have achieved. There is a 

combination of several different elements, 

a top-quality lounge incorporating a 

five-star dining venue, with the feel of 

a modern art gallery where bronze walls 

feature traditional Arabian calligraphy. 

The facility shares the same colour palette 

and refined finishes as the rest of the 

terminal incorporating some of the world’s 

most exclusive marbles, designer furniture 

and intricate décor, with handcrafted 

accents evoking a timeless appeal and 

contemporary sophistication. 

Amenities 

Upon entering, attention is immediately 

drawn to a 49 x 23ft (15 x 7m) infinity 

pool reflected in a ‘dimpled’ metal ceiling, 

and partly surrounding a grand spiral 

stairway that leads to the mezzanine buffet 

restaurant. The stairs wind around an 

impressive four-tiered crystal chandelier. 

On one side of the pool there is a selfservice 

area where nibbles and light 

The large infinity pool is certainly eye-catching. 

(All photos author unless stated) 



DOHA 



DOHA 

A view along 

just part of the 

lounge gives an 

idea of its scale. 


Chefs and 

waitresses provide 

excellent service 

in the mezzanine 

level restaurant 

which offers an 

impressive range of 

dishes from around 

the world. 

Plenty of 

seating options 

are available to 

travellers. 

There are small 

‘garden’ areas 

at each end of a 

raised seating area. 


bites are available; these change according 

to the time of day. Passengers can relax 

in partitioned areas furnished with stylish 

Italian design leather sofas and armchairs. 

Executive seating is on offer throughout 

the lounge and each unit comes with a 

private flight information display, a reading 

light and power/data outlets. 

On the other side of the pool there 

is a ‘gardened’ section – a long and 

slightly elevated feature with plants 

at both ends and organised into small 

partitioned relaxation areas. At the far 

end of this is the vast all-day food area, 

fully staffed by waiters and serviced by 

chefs preparing fresh à-la carte items, 

club sandwiches and a wide range of hot 

and cold dishes. For even more exotic 

food options, flavours from around the 

world are represented on the mezzanine 

level where guests can choose between a 

continental or oriental brasserie, a global 

deli or a patisserie, while a signature 

bar serves some of the world’s finest 

drinks including Krug champagne. Careful 

attention to detail is evident everywhere 

– even down to the scrambled eggs on 

offer in the buffet area where they are 

beautifully presented in individual terrines 

A dedicated business centre, complete 

with a conference suite, personal 

internet workstations, printers and 

scanners, along with private quiet rooms, 

peaceful family spaces, games rooms 

(offering PlayStation pods and an F1 

driving simulator), several prayer rooms, 

restrooms, a smoking area, a nursery 

and shower rooms fitted with luxury 

amenities and fine linens complete the 

lounge offerings. Guests who wish to 

stay connected and continue working can 

cocoon themselves in one of the private 

workstations equipped with personal 

display screens and complimentary Wi-Fi. 

The Al Mourjan Business Lounge is open 

to Qatar Airways and oneworld First and 

Business Class passengers. Next up is 

the Al Safwa First Class Lounge, which is 

due to open in the coming months as part 

of the airport’s phased development. It 

promises to deliver a luxurious and classy 

experience through the attentive care 

and 5-star hospitality provided by its 

highly trained staff, making any transit 

at the new Hamad International Airport 

a pure pleasure. 


SNAPSHOT 

DAKAR 

One of Air France’s earliest Airbus A300B4-2Cs, F-BVGH (c/n 023) arriving 

at Dakar/Yoff International Airport. The carrier took delivery of the aircraft 

on April 14, 1976. Twenty years later it was leased to Vietnam Airlines for 

five months and was then sold to C-S Aviation Services and converted to 

an A300B4-203C freighter. It was last reported as stored in 2003. 

Dakar 

The Senegalese capital Dakar is the 

most westerly city in Africa and 

occupies the Cap-Vert Peninsular 

on the Atlantic coast. It has always 

been a busy trading port, with shipping 

playing a vital part in its history since 

the 16th century. Dakar’s Léopold Sédar 

Senghor International Airport continues 

the trading tradition and today welcomes 

international flights from around the 

world, including New York, Dubai and 

several European cities. 

Until October 1996 the facility was 

called Dakar/Yoff International Airport, 

and 20 years prior to that Ron Mak paid 

a visit in November 1976 and recorded 

several of the now classic airliners that 

once frequented the airfield. 

Iberia Boeing 727-256 EC-CAI (c/n 20592) prior to departure from Dakar on November 9, 1976. The aircraft was delivered to the 

carrier in April 1972 and eventually broken up in Madrid in January 1996. 

Air Mauritanie Douglas DC-4 5T-CAD (c/n 42939) 

taxies to the runway in the heat of the African 

sun. Delivered to Air France as F-BBDG on May 

25, 1946, it was sold to Air Mauritanie in October 

1963 and leased to Air Afrique between 1965 and 

1968. It continued in service until 1977 before 

being stored at Nouakchott Airport in Mauritania. 

Senegal Government Boeing 727-2M1 6V-AEF (c/n 21091) 'Pointe de Sangomar' was delivered only seven days prior to the author’s visit on November 9, 1976. In April 2002 the aircraft was 

fitted with winglets, but is currently stored at Perpingnan/Rivesaltes Airport in the South of France. 


SNAPSHOT 

DAKAR 

Air Afrique Sud Aviation SE.210 Caravelle 11R 

TU-TCY (c/n 219) 'Yaounde' was handed over 

to the carrier on July 17, 1967. It moved on 

to Kabo Air as 5N-AWQ in 1984 and was later 

sold to AeroSucre Colombia as HK-3288X in 

September 1987. It crashed near Barranquilla 

in Colombia on April 26, 1989. 

Air Senegal Douglas DC-3D 6V-ACW (c/n 42959) made for a splendid sight at Dakar in November 1976. It was originally 

delivered to Pacific Northern Air Lines as N37469 in February 1946 and was also used by Mackey Air Lines and Ivory Coast Africa. 

Transportes Aéreos da Guiné-Bissau Douglas DC-3 CR-GBL (c/n 14161/25606) was originally delivered to the US Army Air Force as 

a C-47B (serial 43-48345). It was subsequently used by the Royal Air Force as KJ822 before passing into civilian use with several 

operators, including Air Senegal (as 6V-ACZ) and had just joined Transportes Aéreos da Guiné-Bissau when this image was taken. 

Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62M CCCP-86453 (c/n 1622323) was delivered to the Russian carrier in August 1976. It was reregistered RA-86453 in May 1993, sold to Kras Air in December 1995 

and was last reported as stored. 


FEATURE 

LILLE 

Resurgent Lille 

Lille Airport is bouncing back after a period of decline as it fights for its place 

in the highly competitive Franco-Belgian border region of Northeast France. 

Yinka Jan Sojinu investigates. 


ICAO Code: LFQQ 

IATA Code: LIL 

Location: 

50° 33.48’ N, 003° 05.13’ E 

Elevation: 157ft (48m) 

Runway: 08/26 9,333 x 148ft (2,845 x 45m) 

02/20 5,249 x 98ft (1,600 x 30m) 


Tower: 118.55 

Ground: 121.85 


Website: 

www.lille.aeroport.fr 

UK 

France 

Germany 

Historic Lille is the main cultural 

and economic centre of the 

French-Flemish region and ranks 

as the country’s fourth largest 

metropolitan area with a population of 

about 1.5 million. The city, also referred 

to as Rijsel in the nearby Belgian-Flanders 

district, is a major transport interchange 

and home to several large corporations, 

specialised industries and universities. It 

also has a thriving tourist industry. 

It is a hub for travel between the 

Netherlands, Belgium, France, UK and 

beyond, thanks to the French motorway 

network and its strategic position on the 

continental high-speed rail network. There 

are strong cultural and economic ties across 

the Belgian border, which is 5.3 miles 

(8.5km) away, and these have led to the 

establishment of the Eurométropole Lille- 

Kortrijk-Tournai to promote inter-boundary 

co-operation. 

Lille Airport (LIL) is at Lesquin, 6 

miles (9.6km) south-southeast of the 

city, and plays an increasing part in the 

conurbation’s connectivity and is one of 

France’s fastest growing airports. 

History 

The first flights near Lille occurred in 1907 

when a grass field south of the city near 

Ronchin and Faches-Thumesnil was used. 

The site and others in the France/Belgian 

border region saw extensive action in 

World War One. The airfield near Ronchin 

was commissioned during the 1920s for 

commercial aviation and welcomed flights 

from the UK and European destinations. 

During World War Two the airfield was 

‘moved’ by the occupying Germans when 

a new site for a Luftwaffe base was 

established about 1.5 miles (2.5km) to 

the southeast in 1942. It had an extensive 

network of concrete runways, taxiways and 

aprons, which form the basis of the current 

airport. When the Allies liberated the city 

in September 1944, the airfield was mostly 

intact. The French Air Force took control 

and it was used by various NATO members 

after the organisation was founded in 1949. 

The French Army retained a helicopter unit 

at the base until the 1990s. 

The airfield began accepting civil traffic 

in 1947 and the city’s metropolitan 

chamber of commerce gave it full 

Air France, Volotea and Ryanair aircraft share the apron in front of Lille’s ultra-modern terminal. (Laurent Ghesquiere/Aeroport de Lille) 


FEATURE 

LILLE 

The airport entrance adjacent to 

car park number three. 

(Not for airborne/ 



HOP! Embraer ERJ-145 F-GRGF (c/n 145050) between flights at Lille. 


FEATURE 

LILLE 

The main departures and arrivals hall. (Denis Paillard/Aeroport de Lille) 

Destinations 

Agadir 

Ajaccio 

Algiers 

Antalya 

Barcelona 

Bastia 

Biarritz 

Bodrum 

Bordeaux 

Calvi 

Catania 

Clermont-Ferrand 

Corfu 

Djerba 

Dubrovnik 

Faro 

Fes 

Figari 

Fuerteventura 

Geneva 

Heraklion 

Izmir 

Kos 

Lyon 

Malaga 

Marrakech 

Marseille 

Monastir 

Montpelier 

Nantes 

Nice 

Olbia 

Oran 

Oujda 

Palermo 

Palma de Mallorca 

Perpignan 

Porto 

Rhodes 

Split 

Strasbourg 

Tenerife 

Toulouse 

Tunis 

Venice 

Bar Jardins Pamplemousse is in the departures and arrivals hall 

and is particularly popular. (All photos author unless stated) 


FEATURE 

LILLE 

commercial rights in 1953. The next ten 

years saw steady passenger growth which 

led to the construction of a new terminal 

during the 1960s. Traffic was typically 

business passengers flying mostly with 

Air France and Air Inter to domestic 

destinations. The world’s first Novotel 

opened near the airport in 1967, catering 

primarily for LIL travellers. 

Steady growth continued through the 

1970s and was sufficient to inspire the birth 

of a locally-based carrier – Flandre Air. It 

began with a fleet of Beech 1900s, serving 

mainly small domestic destinations. The 

same decade a dedicated cargo terminal 

opened and the airport was also used 

as a testing facility for the Anglo-French 

Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde. 

During the 1980s regular services were 

complimented by an increasing number 

of seasonal long-haul flights to the French 

Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and 

Martinique, as well as scheduled links to 

New York (1985). The airport’s fortunes 

changed in 1994 after the opening of 

the Channel Tunnel and the associated 

high-speed rail station providing links 

to Brussels, London and Paris. The fast 

rail links were stiff competition for the 

airlines and many domestic routes were 

dropped, including the previously busy 

one to Paris/Orly. 

The airport operator, Socièté de gestion de 

l’aéroport de la région de Lille (SOGAREL), 

responded and invested heavily in facilities 

and opened a new terminal in 1996. There 

was also a shift away from serving business 

travellers to a more leisure-focused market, 

particularly holiday charters. Over time 

this has paid off and in 2013 LIL registered 

record passenger numbers of 1,661,741. 


Lille Airport occupies 1,112 acres (450ha) 

and is bordered by five municipalities: 

Lesquin, Fretin, Avelin, Templemars and 

Vendeville, all part of the Lille metropolitan 

area. The distinctive 96,878sq ft (9,000m 2 ) 

terminal was designed by French firm Denis 

Sloan and can handle 2mppa. Departures 

and arrivals share the same level which 

creates a rather ‘cosy’ atmosphere, despite 

the vast amounts of glass used to provide 

a sense of openness. 

The structure was refurbished in 2010 

and is populated with several shops, a cafe, 

restaurant (with views across the airfield), 

car rental desks and an information point. 

Airside there is a duty free outlet but 

refreshments are limited to vending 

machines. There are four airbridges, 

supplemented by 11 further aircraft stands 

accessed by foot. Other remote stands 

are served by a fleet of buses. Within the 

terminal are the SOGAREL offices and a 

conference centre which is available to 

rent for meetings and seminars. 

Road access is excellent as LIL is close to 

the A1 motorway to Paris and also has good 

connections to Belgium and regional cities 

such as Valencienes and Dunkirk. Because 

of this, 57% of passengers arrive by car and 

there are five large car parks with spaces 

for around 3,700 vehicles. An hourly bus 

shuttle to the city’s Lille Flandres and Lille 

Europe (high-speed) railway stations takes 

about 20 minutes. 

Infrastructure 

There are two runways, 08/26 is 9,333ft 

(2,845m) long and is used for most traffic, 

while 02/20 measures 5,249ft (1,600m). 

The main runway is CAT III and capable 

of handling aircraft up to the size of the 

Antonov An-124 and the Airbus A380 – LIL 

is a diversion facility for Paris/Charles de 

Gaulle. Runway 08/26 has six exits linked 

to a parallel taxiway and is crossed by 02/20 

at its western end. Most General Aviation 

traffic uses the shorter runway, winds 

permitting, and, if necessary, it can also be 

used by smaller passenger aircraft, such 

as Embraer and Bombardier regional jets. 

The airport’s fire and rescue station 

and the Shell Aviation fuel supply depot, 

the airport's sole provider, are near the 

eastern end of runway 08/26. In addition 

to its regular infrastructure, the airport 

An Air Algerie 

Airbus A330 arrives 

from Algiers, as 

viewed from the 

Your’s restaurant. 

A shuttle bus 

to the city’s two 

railway stations 

prepares to leave 

from the terminal. 

Low-cost 

carriers, such as 

easyJet, have 

helped to boost 

passenger numbers. 

The main 

apron can be 

particularly busy 

during the summer 

months. (Laurent 

Ghesquiere/ 

Aeroport de Lille) 

Airlines 

Aigle Azur 

Air Algerie 

Air France 

easyJet 

Hop! 

Jetairfly 

Nouvelair Tunisie 

Pegasus Airlines 

Ryanair 

Tailwind Airlines 

Thomas Cook Airlines (Belgium) 

Transavia.com (France) 

Tunisair 

Volotea 

Vueling 

Enthusiast Spot 

Lille Airport’s panoramic restaurant Your’s is 

usually open between 11:00 and the time 

of the last departure and provides excellent 

views across the terminal apron and Runway 

08/26. It is accessed via the departures/ 

arrivals hall level. Photographers should 

note the glass is tinted. Another vantage 

point is on the elevated access road beside 

the terminal. Off airport, there are various 

places to either observe or photograph 

aircraft around the perimeter and these can 

be reached via the D145 road. 


FEATURE 

LILLE 

SOGAREL’s distinctive 

headquarters is linked to 

the airport’s terminal. 

has two distinctive half circle concrete 

taxiways with several parking stands on 

the southern side of Runway 08/26. These 

are mostly disused and are remnants of 

the former World War Two airfield. 

Airlines 

Air France and its subsidiaries have played a 

key role at LIL since the airport opened and 

still provide the vast majority of domestic 

flights. The airline has rebranded and 

restructured several times during the 

intervening years. For example, Air Inter 

was integrated into Air France in 1997, 

‘home carrier’ Flandre Air merged with 

Proteus and Régional Airlines to become 

Régional in 2001, and Régional itself was 

combined with Britair and Airlinair in 2013 

to become today’s HOP! Currently HOP! 

serves up to a dozen (summer season) 

domestic destinations, using regional jets. 

Flights to Marseille and Nice now enjoy 

mainline fleet A319s and passengers for 

Paris are booked on to the high-speed rail 

services from Lille Europe station. 

The last 15 years have seen the meteoric 

rise of LCCs and the budget formula 

has progressively been introduced to 

LIL, with easyJet, Ryanair, Volotea and 

Vueling adding flights which has helped 

to significantly raise passenger numbers. 

Connections to North Africa, particularly 

flights to Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, 

are popular because of extensive ethnic 

populations within the local communities. 

Algeria’s national carrier Air Algerie has 

several flights a week to Algiers and these 

are particularly busy during the summer 

and winter peak holiday seasons. The 

normal aircraft used to be a Boeing 737- 

600 or -800, but demand has resulted 

in increasing use of the carrier’s A330- 

200s and occasionally 767-300s. The 

airline also flies to Oran, while France’s 

Aigle Azur competes on both routes with 

A320s. Tunis Air and Nouvelair fly to 

Tunis and Djerba while Ryanair connects 

Traffic Statistics 

Year Passengers Cargo (tonnes) Movements 

2002 923,148 38,712 41,320 

2003 873,600 45,053 35,153 

2004 848,037 55,787 30,612 

2005 842,650 63,133 24,330 

2006 936,032 63,039 32,203 

2007 1,051,758 68,427 29,077 

2008 1,014,704 66,071 32,802 

2009 1,147,924 51,857 30,900 

2010 1,170,693 45,587 32,831 

2011 1,164,631 36,997 17,355 

2012 1,397,637 41,445 17,320 

2013 1,661,741 40,549 19,782 

the Moroccan city of Fes. 

The past two years have seen Belgian 

carriers Jetairfly (TUI group) and its 

competitor Thomas Cook Airlines 

(Belgium) added to LIL’s list of airlines, 

both providing summer seasonal holiday 

flights. The two account for a large 

percentage of the airport’s charter 

traffic and serve an impressive list of 

mostly Mediterranean destinations in 

Greece, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Croatia, 

Tunisia, Egypt and the French Island of 

Corsica. These flights are also attracting 

passengers from neighbouring Belgium. 

Transavia established a summer seasonal 

base at the airport in 2013 and currently 

flies to Venice, Djerba and Agadir, 


FEATURE 

LILLE 

The terminal interior does its best to emulate 

the mood lighting concept now becoming 

popular in aircraft cabins. 

Marrakech and Oujda in Morocco. Other 

charter carriers frequenting LIL include 

Turkey’s Tailwind Airlines and Pegasus 

Airlines flying to and from Antalya, 

Bodrum and Izmir. 

The airport occasionally handles longhaul 

passenger charters, notably four 

direct XL Airways France A330 services 

to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic 

on behalf of tour operator Marmara. The 

cruise ship company Costa occasionally 

charters direct connections from Pointea-Pitre 

to bring home disembarking 

passengers from the Caribbean Island 

of Guadeloupe. 

Some annual charters also feature, such 

as the Royal Canadian Air Force CC-150 

Polaris flights on behalf of the Canadian 

National Vimy World War One Memorial 

which runs in the spring, and the Saudia 

747 Hajj flights to Jeddah. On June 9 last 

year the airport hosted the Air France A330 

departure carrying the French national 

football team to Sao Paulo for the FIFA 

World Cup. 

Cargo 

A cargo terminal is on the eastern side 

of Runway 08/26, close to the fire and 

rescue station and fuel store. It is open 

24 hours a day, seven days a week and 

the majority of freight is perishables. The 

facility was refurbished and extended in 

1994 and 2005. 

Jetairfly has 

secured a good 

foothold in the 

holiday market 

and competes 

with Thomas Cook 

Airlines (Belgium). 


com/Rudi Boigelot) 

Traffic climbs up 

the approach road 

to the terminal – 

57% of travellers 

arrive by road. 

Occasionally special cargo charters 

bring in types such as the Antonov An-124 

to collect heavy machinery for various 

customers across the globe. To date 

the maximum annual tonnage has been 

68,427, which was achieved in 2007, before 

the effects of the global financial crisis 

took hold. Since then freight traffic has 

struggled to recover, with 40,549 tonnes 

handled in 2013. 

Lille is home to France’s largest cluster of 

automotive, railway and bio tech industries, 

and is also a major logistics and distribution 

centre. Competition for cargo tonnage 

comes from several large airports in the 

region, some specialising in freight, such 

as such as Luxembourg/Findel. 

Other aviation activities 

A General Aviation facility has been 

established in the former passenger terminal 

on the western side of the airport near the 

ATC tower. It covers 8,611sq ft (800m 2 ) and 

has customs, border control, a VIP lounge 

and a 516,668sq ft (48.000m 2 ) apron. 

The old passenger terminal also houses 

a FedEx Express office, although local 

packages are taken by road to its hub 

at Paris/CDG. A maintenance hangar 

for HOP! is alongside, handling repairs 

and servicing for the carrier’s fleet of 

Embraers and ATRs as well as for third 

parties. The site occupies 46,285sq ft 

(4,300m 2 ) and has two hangars, the larger 

of which can accommodate aircraft as 

large as an A320. 

At the northern end of Runway 02 are 

hangars belonging to aircraft maintenance 

company CIDRA which specialises in general 

aviation aircraft. The site is also home 

to Club Aérien Lille Métropole (CALM), 

which is one of two flying clubs in the Lille 

Metropolitan area, the other being UALRT, 

based at the city’s grass airfield at Lille 

Marcq-en-Baroeul in Bondues. 

Opposite the CIDRA site, but separated 

from the taxiway/apron network 


FEATURE 

LILLE 

Travel Spot 

Lille is a city where the local French-Flemish and the country’s 

national culture are conjoined. This is reflected in an historic 

city centre which features modern architecture and several 

museums complimented with numerous restaurants and cafés. 

Visitors will find many impressive buildings, including the 

Chamber of Commerce with its 249ft-tall (76m) belfry, the old 

Stock Exchange (La Vieille Bourse) and the Opera House in the 

Grand Place (square). These structures date from the 17th to 

the 20th century and in most cases complement each other’s 

façades beautifully. 

Other highlights are the Vauban Citadel fortification, Column 

of the Goddess, Porte de Roubaix, and town hall in Place 

Simon Vollant. Also worth a visit is the Gare Saint Sauveur 

site, a converted railway yard with its own bistro and featuring 

alternating exhibitions. 

The Palais – des-Beaux-Arts de Lille is considered one of the 

country’s greatest fine art establishments and the Le Maison 

Natale de Charles de Gaulle are just two of a wide range of 

regional museums. On a modern note, the Euralille shopping 

centre, which opened in 1994, features around 130 shops and 

covers almost the entire area between the city’s two railways 

stations. It is surrounded by high-rise buildings and a park. 

Just one of many classic buildings to see in Lille is La Vieille Bourse 

(Old Stock Exchange). 

Useful Websites: 

www.lilletourism.com 

www.eurometropolis.eu 

www.northernfrance-tourism.com 

www.transpole.fr 

The Chamber of Commerce 

Belfry in the centre of Lille. 

The French high-speed rail network 

competes on journeys to many domestic 

destinations, although passengers for Paris 

are routed this way since flights from Lille no 

longer go to the French capital. 


FEATURE 

LILLE 

is a hangar and landing apron used by 

Hélicoptère Sécurité Civile (National Civil 

Fire-fighter Helicopter) which flies the 

Airbus Helicopters EC145. 

Future prospects 

Marketing and Development Manager, Pierre 

Fernemont, explained to Airports of the 

World that the majority of the facility’s 

recent passenger growth had been down 

to the success of attracting new LCCs and 

more routes to the airport. Apart from the 

remaining high frequency business routes 

served by Air France and HOP!, the rise of 

cheaper domestic services offered by LCCs 

was providing stiffer competition to the 

high-speed rail services, notably to southern 

destinations such as Nice and Toulouse. 

Further expansion of LCC point-to-point 

traffic, along with enhancement of the 

business and holiday markets, remain 

SOGAREL’s priorities. A target had been set 

to achieve a throughput of 1.8mppa in 2018. 

Attracting a LCC to establish a permanent 

base at LIL would be the best outcome, 

as this could potentially boost traffic to 

in excess of 2mppa. To facilitate this, the 

terminal can be extended to accommodate 

3mppa if required. 

The airport’s management realises that as 

seemingly easy these goals might appear at 

first glance, the airport must compete with 

several other facilities with well establish 

LCC bases – Brussels/Charleroi being a good 

example – and the major hubs at Paris/CDG 

and Brussels Airport. 

This is probably why LIL doesn’t have 

any flights to Montreal in Canada, despite 

the fact that eight other French cities 

do. The airport’s CEO Jean Christophe 

Minot commented: “We can imagine that 

‘down the road’ some airlines will think 

seriously about such operation, but perhaps 

the establishment of an overseas hub 

HOP! Embraer 

E-Jets are a 

common sight at 

Lille. (HOP! – P 

Dourlot) 

One of the 

airside boarding 

gate waiting areas. 

The 'Your’s' 

restaurant is an 

ideal place from 

which to watch 

aircraft movements, 

though you are 

expected to order 

something! 

connection to Lille should be the first step.” 

In an attempt to distinguish it from its 

competitors, LIL has focused on the needs 

of its passengers and airline customers, 

provided good accessibility to the airport 

and maintained a quality product suiting 

its traditional (business) passengers. The 

next few years will determine if LIL’s 

ambitious passenger and route targets can 

be achieved, but given its record so far, it 

should rightfully feel confident. 

Acknowledgements 

The author thanks Jean Christophe Minot, 

Lille Airport’s CEO; Pierre Fernemont, 

Marketing and Development Manager; 

Edouard Aulanier, Communications 

Manager; and photographers, Laurent 

Ghesquiere and Denis Paillard, for their 

assistance in preparing this article. 


Divide and Conq 

AIRPORT ANALYSIS 

DUAL HUBS 



DUAL HUBS 

quer 

Ulf Meyer delves into 

the complex world 

of ‘dual-hubs’ and 

the rationale for their 

existence. 

Traditionally in Europe and Asia (but 

not North America) one big airline 

has one big hub, often in the national 

capital or the country’s largest city. 

The pattern has changed and continues to 

evolve. Many European and Asian airlines 

have established one or more secondary 

hubs to cater for strong traffic growth 

worldwide and to overcome problems 

caused by increasingly slot-constrained 

primary hubs. In some places, such as 

Australia, having more than one hub is a 

necessity due to the great geographical 

distances. Customers simply do not 

enjoy backtracking to somewhere their 

aircraft flew over an hour previously. 

Matching demand with flights across two 

or more hubs is, however, a highly complex 

undertaking for airlines. 

Geography vs demand 

In densely built-up regions such as Europe 

or East Asia, airline hubs can sometimes 

be right next to one another. The distance 

between Lufthansa’s Frankfurt and 

Münich hubs is under 200 miles (320km), 

for example, while in Asia the distance 

between ANA’s hubs in Tokyo and Osaka 

is less than 250 miles (400km). In these 

cases, it is not so much the possible length 

of backtracking but the fact that each city 

has its own needs for a hub. Corporations 

or industries sometimes create significant 

demand for direct flights, so much so that 

traditional hubs cannot grow fast enough 

to meet the need. Secondary hubs are 

sometimes created to cater for ‘overflow’. 

Traffic division 

How do airlines divide their traffic flows 

between hubs? Do secondary or tertiary 

hubs replicate the primary ones, or do 

they carve out a niche for themselves? 

Different airlines find different answers, 

as is explained in the following examples 

from the world’s top 50 airlines (excluding 

US carriers, LCCs and one-hub airlines). 

British Airways (BA) has run two London 

hubs for many years, Heathrow (LHR) and 

Gatwick (LGW). The airline currently uses 

LGW primarily for leisure-oriented routes, 

while business destinations are served 

from LHR. There is much cross-over on 

flights to Amsterdam, Barcelona, Nice, 

Venice, Rome, Larnaca and Las Vegas, for 

example. As a result, many destinations 

are served from both facilities. Domestic 

connections are limited but cities such as 

Edinburgh and Glasgow are also linked to 

both hubs. Several destinations served 

from LGW, such as Dubrovnik, Alicante 

and Málaga, plus Caribbean hotspots 

including Antigua, Barbados, Bermuda, 

Cancún, Port of Spain, Punta Cana, St 

Lufthansa is a 

good example of 

a major European 

carrier running two 

hubs. Its primary 

one is at Frankfurt 

and its aircraft 

dominate this 

view of Terminal 1. 

(Fraport) 

British Airways 

is the dominant 

carrier at London/ 

Heathrow, but the 

airline still provides 

many flights from 

its smaller hub at 

nearby Gatwick. 

(Sam Chui) 

German carrier 

airberlin has hubs 

at Berlin/Tegel and 

Düsseldorf. The 

former is used 

mostly for flights 

to Northern and 

Eastern Europe; 


OE-LOE (c/n 3415) 

departs on an inter- 

European service 

in April 2013. 


com/Dave Sturges) 

Kitts, St Lucia, Tobago and Kingston have 

no links to LHR. Flights to North American 

and East-Asian are almost solely offered 

from Heathrow. 

On a smaller scale, Virgin Atlantic Airways 

also has a similar division of flights between 

the same two airports. From Gatwick, 

it serves the Caribbean (to Antigua, 

Barbados, Cancún, Grenada, Havana, St 

Lucia, and Montego Bay). It also flies to 

two North American cities – Las Vegas 

and Orlando – both being primarily leisure 

destinations. At Heathrow, Virgin connects 

to Atlanta, Boston, Delhi, Dubai, Hong 

Kong, Johannesburg, Lagos, Los Angeles, 

Miami, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai 

and Washington. It launched domestic 

flights from Heathrow to serve Manchester, 

Edinburgh and Aberdeen under the ‘Little 

Red’ banner in March 2013 to feed into its 

main LHR hub. It was not a commercial 

success and they are due to cease this year. 

Europe’s approach 

Looking at continental Europe, how 

does Germany’s Lufthansa divide 

traffic between hubs at Frankfurt and 

Münich? The pattern is much less 

obvious than BA’s. The carrier has to 

an extent replicated the route network 

offered at Frankfurt since opening its 

second hub in Münich in 1992. Both are 

business/city-focused. Münich has larger 

number of routes to Italy and the Balkans 

but does not serve many of the longhaul 

destinations that Frankfurt does, 

including Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, 

Nagoya, Denver, Detroit, Dallas, Atlanta, 

Philadelphia, Houston, Johannesburg, 

Qingdao, Nanjing, Shenyang, Orlando, 

Toronto, Seattle, Vancouver and also 

cities in South America, Africa, the 

Middle East, Russia and Central Asia. 

Even within Europe, second-tier cities 

such as Geneva, Basel, Gdansk, Poznan, 

Wroclaw, Katowice, Riga, Vilnius, Tallinn, 

Turin, Bologna, Stavanger, Bergen, 

Billund and Gothenburg, Graz, Linz, 

Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Birmingham, 

Edinburgh and Aberdeen are only linked 

with Frankfurt which serves 95 more 

cities than Münich. Even some German 

domestic destinations, such as Dresden, 

Leipzig, Stuttgart, Friedrichshafen and 

Nuremberg are only linked to Frankfurt 

– at least for now. Münich has exclusivity 

on Lufthansa flights to Ankara, Antalya, 

Charlotte, Cologne, Izmir, Larnaca, 

Montréal, Sarajevo and Tbilisi. 

Lufthansa’s subsidiary Swiss International 

Air Lines (SWISS), with its dominant hub at 

Zürich, serves around 20 destinations from 

its secondary hub at Geneva. Services are 

a replica of Zürich, with the exception of 

Porto, indicating the carrier is not seeking 

to differentiate its hubs, but rather just 

serve local demand in the west of its 

home country. 

German carrier airberlin is another two 

hub-airline with almost symmetrical bases 

at Berlin/Tegel (TXL) and Düsseldorf 

(DUS). The DUS hub provides flights 

to some leisure destinations that TXL 

does not (including Cancún, Curaçao, 



DUAL HUBS 

Milan/Malpensa was once a major hub for Alitalia, 

but today it has limited hub connections and some 

long-haul flights for the flag carrier. During better 

days, Boeing 777-243ER EI-DBM (c/n 32782) taxies 

to the runway in September 2009. (AirTeamImages. 

com/Jan Severijns) 



DUAL HUBS 

Varadero, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Fort 

Myers – all in the Caribbean – as well 

as Djerba, Florence, Ibiza, Lanzarote, 

Marrakech, Marsa Alam, Miami, Naples, 

Olbia and Sylt). From Berlin, the carrier 

connects to several Northern European 

cities, such as Gothenburg, Bergen, 

Helsinki, Oslo and Stockholm, as well as 

Eastern European destinations including 

Bucharest, Budapest, Gdansk, Kaliningrad, 

Kraków, St Petersburg, Sofia and Warsaw. 

It makes TXL the airline’s hub focusing 

on Northern and Eastern Europe. Unlike 

DUS, Berlin also has direct flights to 

Chicago, Miami, Paris/Orly and Rome, 

as well as domestic destinations such 

as Saarbrücken, Karlsruhe, Cologne, 

Frankfurt and Nuremberg. 

Air France and Dutch flag carrier KLM 

merged in 2004, although both retain 

their individual identities. Traffic is 

concentrated on the airlines’ respective 

hubs at Paris/Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and 

Amsterdam/Schiphol (AMS). The case of 

Air France-KLM is special because it is not 

so much one airline serving two hubs, but 

a double airline with one hub each. KLM 

serves some destinations from AMS that 

the larger hub at CDG does not. If you 

want to travel to secondary cities in East 

Asia such as Hangzhou, Xiamen, Taipei, 

Chengdu, Manila or Fukuoka on the Air 

France-KLM network, you will be routed 

via AMS, since Air France does not offer 

any of these destinations through its Paris 

hub. The same is true for Norwegian 

cities such as Bergen, Stavanger and 

Oslo and the Danish cities of Aalborg 

and Billund. Together with Helsinki and 

Gothenburg, this makes Amsterdam the 

Nordic and Scandinavian hub for the 

two-airline-group. 

The important oil and gas industry 

generates a considerable number of 

flights to the Scottish cities of Aberdeen, 

Glasgow and Edinburgh. All are served 

direct from AMS, but not CDG. Other 

exclusive destinations from AMS include: 

Abu Dhabi, Accra, Almaty, Aruba, Bahrain, 

Bonaire, Calgary, Cali Cape Town, Chicago, 

Curaçao, Damman, Dar es Salaam, Bali, 

Doha, Entebbe, Guayaquil, Havana, Kigali, 

Kilimanjaro, Kuwait, Lagos, Muscat, 

Nairobi, Paramaribo, Quito and Vancouver. 

Air France offers many non-stop 

connections to sub-Saharan Africa 

that Amsterdam does not, including to 

Abidjan, Abuja, Antananarivo, Bamako, 

Bangui, Brazzaville, Conakry, Cotonou, 

Dakar, Djibouti, Douala, Freetown, 

Kinshasa, Lagos, Libreville, Lomé, 

Malabo, Monrovia, N’djamena, Niamey, 

Nouakchott, Ouagadougou, Port Harcourt 

and Yaoundé. In Latin America, Havana, 

Brasilia, Caracas and Montevideo are only 

connected with CDG. In East Asia this is 

true for Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, 

Tokyo/Haneda and Wuhan. In both France 

and the Netherlands the vast majority 

of domestic services route passengers 

through their respective hubs, meaning 

for some passengers two flights can 

be required before joining a long-haul 

connection. 

In Southern Europe Alitalia has struggled 

in recent years, both financially and 

against increasing competition from LCCs. 

Although no longer considered one of 

the largest European carriers, it still has 

three hubs. Milan/Linate, mostly serves 

domestic destinations but also connects 

with Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, 

Bucharest, London, Paris and Warsaw. All 

of these cities are also served from the 

China Southern 

Airlines Boeing 

737-81B B-2695 

(c/n 32923) shares 

the apron with 

Airbus A320 Family 

aircraft at Shanghai/ 

Pudong Airport in 

December 2012. 


com/Dave Sturges) 

Oslo/ 

Gardermoen 

is one of three 

Scandinavian hubs 

used by SAS. It is 

also of increasing 

importance to 

resident carrier 

Norwegian 

Air Shuttle. 


com/Jorgen 

Syversen) 

main hub in Rome/Fiumicino. However, 

people living in the wealthy north of Italy 

do not enjoy going south to the capital 

to then ‘backtrack’ north. Consequently, 

Milan/Malpensa offers a rather eclectic 

mix of Alitalia long-haul destinations, 

including Moscow, New York, Tokyo and 

Tunis, but no European connections and 

only one domestic route to Rome. 

In Northern Europe, Scandinavian 

Airlines (SAS) is another multi-hub carrier. 

The tri-national airline had three bases 

– in Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo 

– from its outset and thus manages a 

‘triple-hub’. These heavily compete with 

one another. Today Copenhagen (CPH) is 

the most important of the three for SAS 

(even though the airline is headquartered 

in Sweden), mainly because it is furthest 

south and thus closer to the rest of 

Europe. The Danish capital has a few 

world-city connections that Oslo and 

Stockholm do not. Most noticeable are the 

long-haul destinations of San Francisco, 

Shanghai, Tokyo, Washington and Beijing, 

although some smaller German and Polish 

cities are exclusively served through 

CPH by SAS, such as Bremen, Hannover 

and Stuttgart in Germany and Warsaw, 

Wroclaw and Poznan in Poland. Other 

‘exclusive’ SAS destinations reachable 

from CPH are Athens, Bologna, Bucharest, 

Budapest, Leeds/Bradford, Luxembourg, 

Newcastle, Palanga, Pristina, Tel Aviv and 

Venice. Oslo (OSL) is the only SAS hub 

to have direct flights to Chania, Gran 

Canaria, Nice, Prague, Reykjavík and 

Alanya. Stockholm is the only SAS hub 

that does not serve any destination the 

other two do not. 

Straddling the Euro-Asia border, Turkey’s 

busiest airport is Istanbul/Atatürk, the 

primary hub for the rapidly expanding 

Turkish Airlines. Istanbul’s second airport, 

Sabiha Gökçen, is rapidly catching up and 

already offers flights to Amsterdam, Baku, 

Berlin, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, 

Kiev, Kuwait, London, Milan, Münich, 

Paris, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Tbilisi, Sarajevo 

and Vienna. Across both facilities 

Turkish Airlines flies to 218 international 

destinations in 107 countries, making it 

one of the most geographically varied air 

carriers in the world. It connects to 100 

European destinations, 66 in Asia and 

42 in Africa. 

Asia/Pacific 

In China three major airline groups 

compete for the millions of customers. 

All run more than one hub – in most cases 

this is a necessity due to the vast size of 

the country. China Southern (CS) serves 

193 destinations in 35 countries from its 

hubs at Beijing, Guangzhou, Chongqing 

and Ürümqi. The carrier has 485 flights a 

day from Guangzhou and 221 from Beijing. 

The main hub is connected to a plethora 

of Asian destinations as well as Frankfurt, 

San Francisco, Amsterdam, Auckland, 

London, Paris, Vancouver, Moscow, 

New York and Los Angeles. The four 

big Australian cities (Melbourne, Perth, 

Sydney and Brisbane) are also directly 



DUAL HUBS 

connected to Guangzhou, the capital 

of the Pearl River Delta and the world’s 

busiest industrial corridor, Guangdong 

Province. The airline’s secondary hub 

in Beijing is linked to Amsterdam, Hong 

Kong, Manila, Phnom Penh, Seoul and 

Tashkent. In addition, international flights 

are available from Dalian to Japan, South 

Korea and Russia. 

Air China officially has intercontinental 

hubs at Beijing/Capital and Shanghai/ 

Pudong. From the Chinese capital it serves 

dozens of Asian destinations as well as 

14 cities in Europe (Athens, Barcelona, 

Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Geneva, London, 

Münich, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Paris, 

Rome, Stockholm and Vienna) – by far the 

best selection of European destinations 

that any Asian carrier offers from its 

hub(s). Add seven US-destinations plus 

Melbourne, Vancouver, Sydney and São 

Paulo and you have an Air-China megahub 

that makes its own secondary hub in 

Shanghai look small in comparison. From 



DUAL HUBS 

Pudong, the carrier only serves Europe 

and Australia (Frankfurt, Milan, Münich, 

Paris, Melbourne and Sydney). 

China Eastern (CE) claims both of 

Shanghai’s airports (Hongqiao and 

Pudong) as its hubs. From Hongqiao, 

which is a mainly domestic city facility, it 

offers flights to Hong Kong, Macau, Seoul, 

Taipei and Tokyo. From Pudong it flies an 

extensive route network covering most 

of Asia as well as Frankfurt, Honolulu, 

London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, 

Paris, Rome, San Francisco, Toronto and 

Vancouver. The carrier also runs two 

smaller hubs in Xi’an and Kunming (both 

with flights to Asian destinations only). 

All Nippon Airways (ANA) in Japan has 

its main hub at Tokyo/Haneda Airport 

(HND), but Osaka/Kansai and Tokyo/ 

Narita (NRT) are also important hubs 

for its international flights. The airline’s 

route network extends through Asia, the 

United States and Western Europe and 

focuses on business destinations; its 

only remaining resort routes are from 

both Tokyo airports to Honolulu. From 

NRT it serves many Chinese destinations 

as well as Chicago, Delhi, Düsseldorf, 

Los Angeles, Mumbai, New York, San 

Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Singapore 

and Washington. Increasingly, though, 

more and more long-haul flights are being 

offered from HND, which is more popular 

because it is easier to reach for many 

travellers, including links to Frankfurt, 

Hanoi, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, 

Münich, Singapore and Vancouver. There 

does not seem to be any particular logic 

as to why some cities are served from 

Narita and some from Haneda, or in the 

case of five destinations (Paris, Bangkok, 

Beijing, Jakarta and Manila), from both. 

Japan is an interesting case because 

both its major airlines use the same 

two Tokyo airports as hubs. Just like 

ANA, Japan Airlines (JAL) also uses 

HND, NRT and Osaka/Kansai as its three 

international hubs. Altogether, JAL 

serves 33 international destinations, six 

of them from Kansai (Bangkok, Honolulu, 

Los Angeles, Seoul/Gimpo, Shanghai and 

Taipei) – a larger selection than rival ANA. 

The primary long-haul service from HND 

is to London/Heathrow while from NRT, 

JAL offers a wide range of destinations 

including Boston, Chicago, Frankfurt, 

Guam, Helsinki, Los Angeles, Moscow, New 

York, San Diego, Sydney and Vancouver. 

In addition Bangkok, Beijing, Ho Chi Minh 

City, Hong Kong, Honolulu, Paris and 

Singapore are all served from both Tokyo 

hubs. There is a lot of duplication in the 

Tokyo aviation market, both between 

carriers as well as between airports. 

In Australia, just like the US and Canada, 

one hub can never be enough for an 

airline that wants to serve the entire 

nation. That is why Qantas uses three 

hubs: Brisbane (with flights to Hong Kong, 

Los Angeles, New York, Nouméa and 

Singapore), Melbourne (serving Dubai, 

Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles and 

Japan Airlines 

Boeing 787-8 

JA824J (c/n 34834) 

is pushed back 

at Tokyo/Narita 

on November 17, 

2012. The carrier 

has hubs at both 

Tokyo airports in 

competition with 

All Nippon Airways. 


com/Angelo 

Bufalino) 

The 2004 merger 

of Air France and 

KLM produced one 

of Europe’s largest 

carriers. Each 

retains its own 

identity with hubs 

at Paris/Charles 

de Gaulle and 

Amsterdam/Schiphol 

respectively. In 

August last year 

one of KLM’s 

last remaining 

McDonnell Douglas 

MD-11s taxies 

to departure 

at Schiphol. 


com/Jeffrey 

Schafer) 

Qantas has 

three hubs across 

the vast Australian 

continent, allowing it 

to offer connectivity 

to the country’s 

major population 

centres. One of 

the carrier’s Airbus 

A330s comes in 

to land at Sydney/ 

Kingsford Smith 

Airport. (Sam Chui) 

Singapore) and of course Sydney, which 

links to all of the same destinations 

as Brisbane and Melbourne and also 

to Bangkok, Dallas, Honolulu, Jakarta, 

Johannesburg, Manila, Queenstown, 

Santiago de Chile, Shanghai and Tokyo. 

Smaller rival Virgin Australia (VA) follows 

its larger competitor’s regional pattern and 

also uses the same three hubs as Qantas. 

All have connections to Auckland and 

Christchurch in New Zealand, Denpasar 

in Indonesia and Nadi in Fiji – popular 

spots for Australian tourists. Melbourne 

and Sydney both offer flights to Los 

Angeles and destinations in the Southern 

Pacific such as Honiara, Port Moresby, 

Port Vila, Queenstown (from Brisbane) 

and Nuku’alofa (from Sydney). Virgin 

Australia’s only connection to Europe is 

from Sydney, via Abu Dhabi. 

Does it work? 

While different airlines around the globe 

have different ideas of how to differentiate 

their multiple hubs, in all cases the Latin 

saying ‘divide et impera’ (divide and 

conquer) has some relevance for the 

airlines’ strategies. Reasons and details 

for dual, triple or even quadruple hubs 

may be very different but they all aim to 

gain more customers than a single hub 

ever could. Geography plays an important 

factor in many cases, such as in the US and 

Australia, where vast distances dictate 

the need for multiple hubs to serve large 

population centres. In Europe the case 

for multiple hubs is far more complex, 

with business connectivity, manufacturing 

centres, financial markets and population 

growth driving the need for hubs to be 

much closer together. 

For the most part it works, but as has been 

the case in Milan, changing fortunes of one 

airline can quickly re-write an airport’s 

master plan, requiring a rapid shift in 

emphasis as it seeks to bring in new carriers 

to serve existing markets, or branch out 

into new ones. 


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FEATURE 

LA PAZ 

A busy La 

Paz apron in the 

late afternoon 

is overlooked by 

Illampu Mountain, 

Bolivia’s fourth 

highest peak. (All 

photos author) 

La Paz 

Holding the High Ground 

Sebastian Schmitz visits the world’s highest 

international airport – El Alto in La Paz, Bolivia. 

A 

landing at El Alto International 

Airport (LPB), 8 miles (13km) 

from and about 1,500ft (450m) 

above the Bolivian city of La Paz, 

is a truly breathtaking experience. When 

arriving from the east, aircraft overfly the 

city, which sits in a deep canyon. From the 

west, one may glimpse Lake Titicaca and 

the beautiful and eerie landscape of the 

Altiplano high plains, before seeing the 

simple brick buildings and many small 

churches in the not-so-wealthy suburb 

of El Alto. 

Thin air 

After touchdown, it is a wise to take things 

slowly due to the thin air. El Alto (which 

means ‘the high one’) is the world’s highest 

international airport – at an elevation of 

13,325ft (4,061m). It was, for many years, 

the highest airport in the world. The honour 

now rests with China’s Daocheng Yading 

Airport at 14,472ft (4,411m) above sea level. 

During the 1980s, Lufthansa used to fly to 

El Alto with Boeing 747-200s (and before 

that the 707), although only on a shuttle 

service from Lima. A now retired Lufthansa 

purser and friend of the author remembers 

vividly how both passengers and crew were 

greeted by ground staff carrying oxygen 

bottles as travellers arriving from sea level 

would often collapse or feel very weak in the 

rarefied air. Today, there is even an oxygen 

bar in the terminal where passengers can 

take a deep breath or two. 

The airport’s altitude has been a limiting 

factor throughout its existence. Even 

though its main Runway 10/28 is quite 

long at 13,123ft (4,000m), non-stop longhaul 

flights are out of the question for the 

time being. Thin air prevents maximum 

weight departures, meaning aircraft have 

to carry less fuel. The high altitude can also 

be a reason for unusual visitors. Aircraft 

manufacturer Airbus chose LPB, along with 

Cochabamba, for a series of high-altitude 

tests of its new A350 in January last year. 

Regional traffic 

Although LPB is Bolivia’s busiest passenger 

airport, the number of international routes 

is limited, compared to Santa Cruz/Viru Viru 

(VVI). The difference between the two is 

almost 12,000ft (3,658m) of altitude. Being 

much closer to sea level means VVI receives 

the bulk of the country’s international flights. 

However, some international traffic does use 

La Paz, mostly to neighbouring countries. 

The longest flight to LPB is American 

Airlines’ daily service from Miami, flown 

by a 757. The schedule is actually a Miami- 

La Paz-Santa Cruz-Miami triangular one, 

enabling the return flight to be direct from 

Santa Cruz with no weight penalties. The 

airport’s most important international route 

is to the Peruvian capital Lima, around two 

hours flying time. Between Avianca and 

LAN, there are up to three daily flights to 

Lima, some go via Santa Cruz purely for 

commercial reasons. Avianca has a daily 

Peru 

Bolivia 

Argentina 

Brazil 

Airbus A319 connection to its hub in Bogotá, 

with an early departure time of 04:25. The 

flight continues to Washington DC, using 

the same flight number, catering for the 

large Bolivian community living in Virginia. 

Peruvian Airlines launched flights to La 

Paz in October last year, offering a daily 

737 connection from Cuzco and Lima. Two 

carriers provide services to Chile; LAN from 

Santiago de Chile four times a week (using 

A320s), with a stop in Iquique in the north of 

the country. Chile’s Sky Airline (see Airliner 

World, April 2015) has a daily A320 service 

which routes via Iquique and Arica, close 

to the Chilean-Peruvian border. The only 

Bolivian carrier offering an international 

flight is locally based Amaszonas. It runs a 

daily Bombardier CRJ link to the Peruvian 

city of Cuzco which, on three days of the 

week, goes via Arequipa. 

Domestic network 

Bolivia’s busiest domestic route is between 

La Paz and VVI. Boliviana de Aviación 

(BoA), which runs its international flights 

from the latter, has nine daily weekday 737 

flights between the two cities. Boliviana also 

serves Cochabamba as well as Tarija and 

Cobija. All remaining domestic destinations 

can be reached via Cochabamba or 

Santa Cruz. With the airline soon 

introducing Chinese-built Xian 

MA-60 turboprops, the number 

of destinations and frequencies 

is likely to grow. 


FEATURE 

LA PAZ 

The terminal from 

the apron on a clear 

and sunny day. The 

international departures 

area is to the left and 

the domestic gates to 

the right. 


ICAO Code: 

IATA Code: 

Location: 

Elevation: 

Runways: 

SLLP 

LPB 

16° 30.48’ S, 68° 11.32’ W 

13,325ft (4,061m) 

10/28 13,123 x 151ft 

(4,000 x 46m) 

10L/28R 6,725 x 300ft 

(2,050 x 91m) 

Frequencies: Tower: 118.3 

Ground: 121.9 


Website: www.sabsa.aero 

Passengers 

disembarking from 

BoA Boeing 737- 

3M8 CP-2552 (c/n 

25041), which has 

just arrived from 

Santa Cruz, the 

busiest route served 

by the airport. 

The main checkin 

hall, with the 

associated desks to 

the right, a luggage 

weighing service 

waiting for business, 

and a popular 

Subway outlet on 

the left. 


FEATURE 

LA PAZ 

The waiting 

lounges offer great 

views of the apron 

and runway and the 

clear glass also allows 

good photographs to 

be taken. 

The entrance to 

TAM’s small terminal. 

The facility is mostly 

used by the airline’s 

turboprop flights. 

TAM Xian MA-60 

FAB-97 (c/n 0412) 

parked in front of 

the carrier’s small 

terminal, just before 

leaving on a flight to 

Rurrenabaque. 

Aerocon Fairchild 

Swearingen 

SA-227DC Metro 

23 CP-2477 (c/n 

DC-830B) arrives at its 

parking stand in the 

early morning. 

Small Trinidad-based carrier Aerocon 

sends its Fairchild Swearingen Metroliners 

to Potosi, Oruro, El Trompillo (see Airports 

of the World, issue 56, p78) and La Paz. 

Bolivia’s newest airline, EcoJet, offers flights 

to Trinidad and Cobija (with connections 

from there) and Sucre using Avro RJ85s. 

Amaszonas offers a range of domestic flights 

including multiple daily links on the trunk 

routes to Santa Cruz and Cochabamba, 

to the tourist hotspot Uyuni (with its 

stunning salt lake, the Salar de Uyuni), 

Sucre, Rurrenabaque and Potosi. Transporte 

Aéreo Militar (TAM), the passenger element 

of the Bolivian Air Force, is popular with 

travellers as fares are usually very low. It is 

also popular with aviation enthusiasts due 

to its fleet of 737-200s, BAe 146-200s, Xian 

MA-60s, Fokker 27s and its sole 727-200, 

which has now been retired. All jet flights 

usually use the regular terminal while its 

turboprops use TAM’s own terminal at the 

northern edge of the airport. Even when 

not flying, a visit to this small terminal 

is recommended as it offers good views 

of the military apron and photography 

is usually tolerated. The military carrier 

serves the cities of Cochabamba (up to four 

times a day) and Cobija, Trinidad, Sucre 

and Rurrenabaque with between two and 

six weekly frequencies. Aircraft types can 

vary, although the route to Rurrenabaque 

is usually a good bet for an MA-60 or F27. 

Facelift 

A series of modernisation and infrastructure 

projects is under way. Resurfacing the 

runway, taxiways and apron is already 

completed. A new wing is to be added to 

the terminal, providing much-needed space 

for more check-in counters and making the 

building more spacious. Once finished, the 

rest of the terminal will be refurbished. Two 

airbridges were recently added, increasing 

the total to four. However, many flights 

are still accessed by foot across the apron. 

The terminal extension will eat 

into current car parking space and a 

replacement area is to be built nearby. 

Looking ahead, there are plenty of unused 

areas around the airfield which could be 

used for more facilities if required. 

Until the extension is finished, the terminal 

remains small and can become crowded at 

peak times, especially in the international 

departure area. That said, amenities are 

modern and offer a good range of services 

including refreshment outlets, shops, ATMs 

and even a small ‘sleeping box’ hotel, the 

Onkel Inn. Once through security, the 

departure lounges give great views of the 

apron and runway and the windows allow 

for good photographs to be taken. Free 

wireless internet is available throughout. 

Bolivia is one of the few countries in the 

world where airport taxes are not included 

in the ticket price. Before proceeding to 

the boarding area, all travellers need to 

visit the airport tax counter and pay their 

$25 for international or just over $2 for 

domestic flights. There are frequent buses 

and minibuses connecting the airport with 

the city centre. Taxis are also available at 

a fixed rate. 

The airport has a second runway (10L/28R), 

parallel to the main tarmac, which is much 

shorter and unpaved. It is used rarely and 

not usually by scheduled flights. 


FEATURE 

LA PAZ 

Old-timers 

Parked piston engine aircraft on the grass near 

the main apron are reminders of a time when 

these classics came and went many times a 

day. During the 1960s and 1970s, and even 

into the 1980s, a colourful array of airlines 

used piston engine types on cargo flights to 

La Paz. Then, roads were poor and there were 

hardly any trucks with a refrigeration system. 

Fresh meat had to be flown from the farms 

in Bolivia’s lowlands to La Paz. Many airlines 

made good money with these meat hauling 

flights across the Andes Mountains in what 

were often poorly maintained aircraft. Today, 

better roads and refrigerated trucks have made 

such flights obsolete and just a few abandoned 

aircraft remain at LPB as a reminder of those 

glorious days. They include Convair C-131 

CP-2026, Curtiss C-46s CP-1080 and CP-1655; 

and ex-La Cumbre Douglas DC-6 CP-1282. All 

are in pretty poor condition and will probably 

be scrapped shortly. 

Former 

Transporte Aéreo 

Militar (TAM) 

Douglas C-47 TAM 

01 is displayed in 

front of the carrier’s 

small terminal. 

British Aerospace 

146-200 CP-2634 

(c/n E2096) is flown 

on behalf of the 

San Cristobal mine, 

which runs a shuttle 

service from La 

Paz to the mine in 

southwest Bolivia. 

One of the Curtiss C-46s in storage at El Alto 

is CP-1655. It is in much better shape than the 

second example nearby. 

Former La Cumbre Douglas DC-6 CP-1282, 

slowly rotting away in the grass. 


FEATURE 

LA PAZ 

(Not for airborne/operational 

use – Navtech Aerad) 

Amaszonas Fairchild Swearingen SA227DC Metro 23 CP-2459 (c/n DC-847B) leaving a parking stand 

close to the terminal, from where this picture was taken. The airline has since standardised on a fleet of 

Bombardier CRJs and has disposed of its Metros. 

Bombardier CRJ200 CP-2715 (c/n 7218) was the first of the type to be delivered to Amaszonas in 2012 

and is one of seven now with the airline. 

Alexander is a Bolivian coffee chain which has numerous branches around 

La Paz and one in the domestic boarding lounge at El Alto Airport. 

LAN Airbus A320-214 CC-BFE (c/n 5364) prepares to depart for a flight to 

the Peruvian capital Lima. 

Bolivia’s busiest 

For years, Santa Cruz’ VVI was number one 

in Bolivia in terms of passenger numbers. 

This changed in 2012, when LPB took over. 

Viru Viru is used by 50% more international 

travellers than El Alto, yet, the number 

of domestic passengers is 40% higher at 

LPB. In 2013, La Paz handled 1,793,866 

travellers, 77,508 more than VVI and a 

growth of around 14% compared with the 

previous year. Having established an upward 

trend and with the much-needed expansion 

currently taking place, airport operator 

SABSA is finally being rewarded for its 

hard work and determination to improve 

the passenger experience at LPB. The 

company is responsible for running the 

nation’s three international airports, Santa 

Cruz/VVI, Cochabamba and LPB. The three 

were privatised in 1997 when a 25-year 

concession contract was signed with Airport 

Group International. Ownership of SABSA 

has changed several times and in 2013, when 

the government decided to re-nationalise 

SABSA, the company was owned by Spanish 

firm Abertis. Today, SABSA is fully owned 

by the Bolivian Government. 

Because of its high altitude, La Paz will 

never become an intercontinental hub. 

Instead it will focus on regional 

international flights and increasing its 

domestic reach. With the new terminal 

expansion and several smaller upgrade 

projects, the airport will become more 

attractive for travellers and hopefully be 

able to encourage more airlines and flights 

in the future. 


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FEATURE 

GUERNSEY 

Island 

Delight 

Kevan James travels 

to the Channel Island 

of Guernsey and 

discovers its wellequipped 

airport is 

eager to welcome 

more visitors from the 

UK and Europe. 


FEATURE 

GUERNSEY 


ICAO Code: 

IATA Code: 

Location: 

Elevation: 

Runway: 

EGJB 

GCI 

49° 26.06’ N, 002° 36.07’ W 

336ft (102m) 

09/27 4,800 x 148ft 

(1,463 x 45m) 


Tower: 119.95 

Ground: 121.8 

Radar: 118.9, 124.5 

Website: www.guernsey-airport.gov.gg 

An aerial view 

of the airport taken 

in September last 

year. (Brian Green/ 

Guernsey Airport) 

Mention the Channel Islands to 

most people and they tend to 

think of tax exiles, the ’80s 

TV detective Bergerac and, 

perhaps, German occupation during World 

War Two – but there’s so much more to 

discover. 

Jersey is the largest of the seven 

inhabited islands that are geographically 

closer to France than mainland Britain and 

consequently has a distinct French flavour. 

They are not part of the UK, neither are 

they in the European Union, but are Crown 

Dependencies and thus Jersey has its own 

government, as does the second largest 

island, Guernsey, which is also responsible 

for Alderney and the remaining smaller 

islands, Sark, Herm, Jethou and Brecqhou. 

While Jersey may sometimes get more 

attention, Guernsey like the others, has its 

charms – quaint houses, quiet roads, great 

beaches and its airport. Once famous for 

the dip towards the threshold of Runway 09 

and its sloping parallel taxiway, Guernsey’s 

airport (GCI) has had a makeover; more 

than that, an almost complete rebuild, 

to match the modern terminal opened 

in 2004. 

History 

Guernsey’s airport has a long history, 

having originally opened with four grass 

runways on May 5, 1939. Being an island, 

it’s not surprising that aviation has always 

played a vital role here. The first passenger 

arrived in October 1919 and in 1923 a regular 

seaplane service began, using the bay off 

the island’s capital, St Peter Port. Cobham 

Air Routes arrived in 1935 using an earlier 

airfield at L’Eree for Croydon-Portsmouth- 

Christchurch-Guernsey flights by Airspeed 

Envoy IIs. Being flood-prone, the field 

was superseded by the current one at La 

Villaize four years later. The airfield was 

a prime target for the German occupation 

forces when World War Two broke out – and 

shortly after opening all civil flying ceased. 

But after the conflict no time was lost in 

re-starting services and in June 1945, His 

Majesty King George VI and his wife Queen 

Elizabeth arrived on an RAF Douglas DC-3 

Dakota, to celebrate the island’s liberation. 

It was the first time a Queen of England 

had flown. 

On June 21, 1945, just six weeks after 

the end of the war-time occupation, 

Guernsey Airways and Jersey Airways 

(later merging to become Channel Island 

Airways) began regular scheduled services 

between Croydon, Southampton, Guernsey 

and Jersey. British European Airways 

(BEA) subsequently took over flights, 

absorbing Channel Island Airways in April 

1947, but caused some considerable disquiet 

locally by using Junkers Ju 52 aircraft, the 

type used on flights to the islands by the 

Luftwaffe on a daily basis during the war. 

Quickly replacing the Ju 52 with de 

Havilland DH.89 Rapides, BEA went 

on to introduce 22 services a week to 

Southampton, 21 to Croydon, 95 a week 

between Guernsey and Jersey and another 

12 to Alderney. Flights to Dinard, France, 

were also added and in 1954, BEA’s Croydon 

connection moved to London/Heathrow. 

However, four years later all BEA links to 

the UK capital moved again, this time to the 

newly opened Gatwick. This was despite 

considerable opposition from the islanders, 

who objected to losing direct links to what 

had rapidly become the world’s premier 

international airport. Meanwhile, in 1956, 

Jersey Airlines had taken over the Alderney, 

Southampton and Dinard routes, and in 

September that year the one millionth 

passenger passed through the airport since 

it opened in 1939. 

Airfield upgrade 

Towards the end of the 1950s, the grass 

runways and terminal were limiting 

the services that could be handled and 

the decision was taken by the Island’s 

government to build a hard surface runway, 

with enough length to cope with larger, 

heavier aircraft then entering service. 

The new runway opened the following 

decade after additional land to the west 

had been acquired, with several houses 

making way for the 4,800ft (1,463m) stretch 

of tarmac. One of the challenges facing 

the construction teams was a valley at 

the western end which had to be filled in. 

Even so, there was still a noticeable dip 

just past the threshold and the taxiway 

linking that end of the runway had an 

even bigger slope, resulting in aircraft 

disappearing from view completely when 

looking out from the terminal and apron. 

The other end of the runway also dropped 

away slightly, giving it an undulating 

profile that occasionally required careful 

touchdowns and a boost of extra power 

when going ‘up the hill’ in either direction, 

on the taxiway. This feature remained until 

the runway’s reconstruction in 2013, and 

today the taxiway retains the same slope. 

Traffic development 

Throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, the 

DC-3s commonly used at GCI were replaced 

by Vickers Viscounts of BEA, British Midland, 

Northeast and Cambrian, Handley Page 

Dart Heralds of British Island Airways and 

the ungainly Aviation Traders Carvairs 

operated by British Air Ferries – enabling 

cars to accompany passengers. These, along 

with numerous smaller carriers, provided 

frequent services, particularly in summer, 

bringing holidaymakers from across the 

UK to the island. 

In 1969, BEA axed its Guernsey-Jersey 

flights and these were replaced by the 

newly formed Aurigny Air Services using 

Britten-Norman BN-2 Islanders, the small 

yellow twin-engine aircraft being joined 

in 1971 by its larger cousin, the Trislander, 

with its tail-fin mounted third engine. More 

than 40 years later, Aurigny is still providing 

vital services. After 38 years of shuttling 

around the Channel Islands, the Trislander 

is nearing retirement, with the most wellknown 

example, G-JOEY (c/n 1016), still in 

service, faithfully flying from Guernsey 

until the arrival of the replacement type, 

the Dornier 228. 

In 1971, BEA set up its Channel Islands 

Division, basing 12 Viscounts primarily 


FEATURE 

GUERNSEY 

Airport Director Colin Le Ray. (Guernsey Airport) 

in Jersey, but also serving Guernsey, 

and in 1973 both islands were linked with 

Amsterdam/Schiphol by the four-engine 

turboprop aircraft. That same year saw 

the merger of BEA and the British Overseas 

Airways Corporation (BOAC), and British 

Airways Regional became a familiar sight 

at GCI, its stylised red tails replacing the 

other carriers’ long-standing ‘Red Square’ 

logo and the shorter lived blue and red 

‘speedjack’ fin design. 

Since those heady days, mainline activities 

have fluctuated; British Airways axed all 

its Channel Islands routes except Jersey 

to Heathrow and Manchester in 1980. 

Some services were later restored only 

to be dropped once again and the link to 

Heathrow was awarded to what became 

Air UK. In 1998 Air UK moved its London 

route from Heathrow to Stansted and 

subsequently abandoned its Guernsey 

connections altogether. 

Over two decades, an array of airlines 

had come and gone, including Dan Air, 

Intra Airways, Jersey Ferry Airlines, 

Brymon Airways and Guernsey Airlines. 

By 2003 the two main carriers were 

Aurigny and Flybe, being joined by what 

had started as Le Coq’s Airlink based 

on Alderney, becoming Rockhopper and 

known today as Blue Islands. 

Infrastructure improvements 

Despite terminal extensions and 

improvements taking place over several 

years, and runway re-surfacing and widening 

in 1974/1975, there was little doubt that the 

airport was lagging behind 

An image from 

1960 – as the 

hard runway was 

completed, the 

dip was levelled 

enough to allow 

safe operations, but 

remained a feature 

of the airport until 

the 2013 rebuild. 

Note the taxiway 

was still much lower 

than the runway. 

(Guernsey Airport) 

The modern 

terminal opened 

in 2004 and still 

has plenty of 

spare capacity to 

accommodate traffic 

growth. (Author) 

others, particularly Jersey. As a result 

Kensington Taylor Architects was selected 

in 1999 to design a completely new terminal. 

Built by Hochtief (UK) Construction, the 

new building opened on March 25, 2004, 

heralding a new beginning for GCI. 

With a price tag of £18m, the terminal 

offered a dramatic improvement in facilities, 

with baggage belts, a larger departure 

lounge, enlarged duty-free outlet, a bigger 

restaurant and bar, wheelchair and disabled 

access to all areas, lifts and a covered 

walkway to aircraft parking stands. 

The terminal was only the start; a longterm 

plan for the airport’s development 

culminated in 2013 with completion of 

the Airport 2040 project, 

involving the 

Blue Islands ATR 72 G-ISLI (c/n 529), at GCI on June 14 last year. The carrier serves Jersey as well as 

Bristol and Southampton in the UK. (AirTeamImages.com/Simon Wilson) 

(Not for airborne/operational 

use – Navtech Aerad) 


FEATURE 

GUERNSEY 

resurfacing of all aircraft parking areas 

and most significantly, a rebuild and 

extension of the runway and a realignment 

of the taxiway serving it, enabling the 

airport to handle larger, heavier aircraft. 

Costing £80m, the scheme also converted 

grass parking areas for private aircraft to 

concrete to provide more apron space for 

both commercial and private flying; there 

were also upgrades to airfield lighting and 

drainage. The most noticeable change to 

the runway was a 492ft (150m) extension 

at the western (09) end and reducing the 

undulating profile by removing some of 

the famous ‘dip’ and raising the height of 

the 27 threshold to provide a more even 

profile. Runway End Safety Areas (RESAs) 

were also added at both ends. 

The work was completed over a two-year 

period and the airport remained open 

throughout, with the exception of four 

planned two-day closures for work that 

could not be carried out overnight. 

With the exception of Aurigny’s Embraer 

195 aircraft, currently the largest to use 

GCI, all other passenger flights are by 

either Aurigny or Blue Islands ATR 42s and 

72s, Flybe Bombardier Dash 8-Q400s, or 

Aurigny’s ubiquitous Trislanders. Airbridges 

are not appropriate for such small aircraft, 

but a covered walkway provides access 

to the eight stands fronting the terminal. 

and troughs of commercial services to the 

island. “Visitor traffic in the 1970s was 

nearly three times higher than current 

levels; however air travel was around 

50% of its current levels. The majority 

of visitors to and from Guernsey travelled 

by sea,” he continued. “Visitor traffic in 

2013 has been estimated at 302,000, of 

this 198,000 travelled to and from the 

island by air. Around 80% of visitors are 

here for leisure, the remaining 20% for 

business. Looking at total airport travel 

(visitors + residents) then 78% is to and 

from the UK, 21% is between Guernsey and 

the other Channel Islands and the balance 

is to and from Europe.” 

With the airport having capacity for 

extra services, Le Ray feels there is some 

room for new entrants and the airport can 

handle aircraft up to Boeing 737 size. “The 

key route network is largely unchanged, 

though carriers have come and gone. 

The airport offers route incentives for 

new or existing operators and the local 

tourist department can offer assistance 

on route marketing and other promotional 

initiatives,” he continued. “A study of 

new route development and a review of 

strategic air links is currently under way. 

It is fair to say that historically Guernsey 

(with 62,000 residents) has punched 

above its weight in terms of the number 

and variety of destinations served. With 

860,000 passenger movements to date 

[autumn 2014] there is a high propensity 

for travel and with only one airport we 

have both a responsibility and opportunity 

to benefit from that dependence on 

aviation. The greatest potential for new 

routes remains with the UK, however 

opportunities for developing European 

destinations are being considered. The 

airport can handle up to three 737s and 

five Dash 8s simultaneously on stands 

adjacent to the terminal. Four additional 

remote stands can accommodate aircraft 

up to Dash 8 size.” 

Although there is an obvious desire to 

see key links strengthened, London’s 

Heathrow is not amongst the destinations 

Le Ray believes will be served. “Gatwick, 

Director’s view 

Airport Director Colin Le Ray said: “The 

latest rebuild has been focussed on 

condition, capacity and compliance. In 

that respect the reconstruction activity 

has facilitated larger aircraft to operate in 

terms of runway and apron strength, both of 

which had limited the use of larger heavier 

aircraft (such as the E195) before works 

were commissioned. The reconstruction 

work has now facilitated regular scheduled 

flights by the Embraer type, which has 

been necessary to protect Guernsey’s 

lifeline Gatwick route on an economically 

sustainable basis. The terminal capacity is 

unchanged at 1.25m passengers per annum, 

and remains around 30% above current 

annual passenger numbers.” 

In position since the summer of 

2003, when he worked on the terminal 

redevelopment, Le Ray is well versed in 

Guernsey’s aviation history and the peaks 

The first floor 

departure lounge 

provides views of the 

central apron and 

the runway. (Author) 

Runway 

resurfacing and 

strengthening work 

under way in 2013. 

(Guernsey Airport) 

The check-in 

area at a quiet time 

of day. (Author) 

Tower controllers 

Peter Thoume (left) 

and Stephen Muir 

(right). The cab 

gives unobstructed 

views of the entire 

airfield. (Author) 


FEATURE 

GUERNSEY 

Manchester and Birmingham remain the 

main hubs with direct connections to and 

from Guernsey. The importance of these 

links is not underestimated and the island’s 

government is continuing to lobby for 

[further] access rights to these airports. 

It was for this reason that the government 

subsequently purchased Aurigny in 2003 

and in doing so obtained control of six 

landing slots at Gatwick. 

Flights to Heathrow ran until approximately 

1998 and sat alongside Gatwick as a regular 

destination for Guernsey passengers. The 

value of Heathrow slots, combined with the 

high price of flying that route led the then 

operator to pull out and concentrate efforts 

at Gatwick. No attempt has been made 

to recommence that service and little or 

no demand is being made for it. A recent 

new service to London City has been less 

well supported to date and this may imply 

that other than interlining traffic there is 

little business support in the island for a 

Heathrow connection.” 

Although the airport can handle a 737, Le 

Ray also points out that, “passengers or 

fuel weight would limit the range it could 

fly due to the runway’s length. Operation 

of the E195 is largely unlimited by either.” 

A further runway extension would 

overcome the issue and it’s not impossible, 

despite land being limited for more physical 

growth. Le Ray continued: “The likely future 

demand for larger aircraft is governed by 

economic realities, including population 

control. The use of larger aircraft with 

unlimited payload would require a runway 

extension to around 5,741ft (1750m) and 

the execution of the runway project has 

endeavoured to future-proof this work, such 

that it would be carried out only at one end. 

A decision not to pursue this option was 

made by the government in 2009, although 

the situation continues to be monitored 

and reviewed. Whilst there remain some 

relatively limited developments possible 

within the existing airport boundary, these 

will be costly as they are generally in more 

remote areas not directly linked to the 

runway or the main road network.” 

Other challenges 

One of the problems the airport does 

have is a familiar one. Guernsey is a small 

Airlines (November 2014) 

Carrier 

Aurigny Air Services 

Blue Islands 

Flybe 

West Atlantic 

Frank McMeiken, 

the airport’s ATC 

manager, enjoys 

his favourite read 

after talking to the 

author. (Author) 

Aurigny Air 

Services’ most 

well-known aircraft 

– Britten-Norman 

Trislander G-JOEY 

(c/n 1016) – on the 

Guernsey apron on 

a sunny summer’s 

day last June. 


com/Simon Wilson) 

West Atlantic 

British Aerospace ATP 

G-BTPG (c/n 2014) 

rests between cargo 

and mail services 

to Bournemouth 

and London/Luton. 

(Author) 

Destinations 

Alderney, Manchester, Gatwick, London 

City, Bristol, East Midlands, Dinard 

Bristol, Jersey, Southampton 

Birmingham, Exeter, Southampton 

Bournemouth and Luton 

island and the coast is not far away in 

any direction. Consequently birds are an 

ongoing issue and Operations Manager 

Mark Luty and his team are frequently to 

be found patrolling the runway using bird 

scaring equipment. 

Snow is less of a problem, but the climate 

is changing and recent winters have seen 

snow becoming more of an issue. “The 

airport does have a limited amount of 

equipment on site,” said Le Ray, “but relies 

on external third party plant operators who 

are able and willing to divert equipment to 

the airport to maintain flights. The facility 

is near the bay of St Malo, surrounded by 

sea and the instances of severe prolonged 

ice are limited. Short or sharp snowfall 

has proven more disrupting recently and 

the airport has adjusted its equipment in 

light of experience. Fortunately the length 

of disruption and the occurrences of it are 

still relatively few and rare.” 

While tourism remains a major industry 

for the Channel Islands, both Jersey and 

Guernsey have, since the 1960s, become 


FEATURE 

GUERNSEY 

The airport’s fire and rescue service uses a pair of MAN VMA108 fire tenders. (Author) 

Flybe Bombardier Dash 8-Q400 G-ECOJ (c/n 4229) squeezes its way 

past the apron resurfacing work in 2013. (Guernsey Airport) 

major offshore financial centres similar 

to the Cayman Islands and Bermuda. 

Guernsey’s horticultural and greenhouse 

activities have been more significant than 

in Jersey, and Guernsey has maintained 

light industry as a higher proportion 

of its economy than the larger island. 

Jersey’s economy since the 1980s 

has been substantially more reliant 

on finance, and both islands are now 

heavily dependent on this sector. As 

a consequence, freight handling is not 

as significant as it once was, but West 

Atlantic continues to provide cargo and 

mail flights to Guernsey from the UK 

mainland using British Aerospace ATP 

aircraft, with links to Bournemouth and 

London/Luton. Aurigny and Blue Islands 

providing inter-island freight capacity. 

As well as its commercial traffic, the 

airport has a thriving private and business 

sector, with FBO Aiglle Flight Support 

providing a complete and – where required 

– discreet service for business customers 

in need of handling and hangar space. 

In a hanger next to the fire station is 

the Channel Islands Air Search (CIAS), a 

volunteer-run organisation providing a 

rapid response airborne search and rescue 

service covering the waters surrounding the 

Channel Islands and the adjacent French 

coast. In addition, Aurigny also supplies 

an emergency Air Ambulance capability 

between the islands and the mainland. 

Whilst it may not be the largest or busiest 

airport, despite the undoubted challenges 

of recent years Guernsey has risen to them 

and redeveloped its facilities to the point 

where, with a dedicated and enthusiastic 

management team in place, the island 

now has an airport fit to meet current and 

future demand. 

Acknowledgements 

The author wishes to thank Colin Le Ray, 

Airport Director; Kate Lawson, Commercial 

Manager; ATC Manager Frank McMeiken; 

Fire Services Manager Gareth Williams, 

and Mark Luty, Operations Manager and his 

team for their assistance and hospitality in 

the preparation of this article. 


FEATURE 

MONGOLIA 

Mongolia Gateway 

Sebastian Schmitz heads east to Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia and the city's Chinggis 

Khan International Airport, which is soon to be replaced by a new, larger facility. 

China 

Mongolia 

Russia 

When people think of Mongolia, 

their typical vision is of a 

vast, beautiful and unspoilt 

country populated by horseriding 

nomads living in yurts – with little 

else. While it is easy to find these things 

in the land-locked nation today, Mongolia, 

founded as the Mongol Empire by Genghis 

(Chinggis) Khan in 1206, is evolving into a 

modern country, particularly around the 

capital, Ulaanbaatar. 

Today, the country’s largest infrastructure 

project is a new airport to serve the city, which 

is expected to open next year. Until then, 

the existing Chinggis Khan International 

Airport (ULN) is the nation’s sole aerial 

gateway to the outside world. 

Centralised growth 

Mongolia has boomed in recent years and 

its economy has thrived, fuelled by the 

exploration and export of its abundant 

natural resources, as well as a blossoming 

tourist industry to satisfy interest in its 

abundant natural attractions. Ulaanbaatar, 

its only major city, is home to almost half 

of the country’s small population of just 

under three million people. Mongolia is 

geographically huge – bordered only by 

China and Russia – and distances between 

towns are considerable. Journeys are 

prolonged due to poorly maintained roads. 

Flying, for those who can afford it, is the 

only suitable option for travel around the 

country and ULN is not only Mongolia’s 

international gateway but also the hub 

for all domestic flying. The airport is 

about 11 miles (18km) west of the fastgrowing 

capital, close to the suburb of 

Buyant-Ukhaa, and opened for commercial 

flying in 1961. In 2005 it was named after 

Chinggis Khan in celebration of 800 years 

of Mongolian statehood. 

The airport has seen impressive growth 

recently. In 2007 it handled 599,555 

passengers, the figure almost doubling by 

2013 to 1,106,704. Between 2010 and 2012, 

growth rates were between 20 and 30%, 

although they slowed to 0.7% between 

2012 and 2013. 

While cargo is less significant, the amount 

of freight handled by the airport grew from 

3,299 tonnes in 2007 to 5,825 tonnes 

in 2013. Most of it is belly cargo carried 

on passenger flights; ULN does not have 

scheduled all-cargo flights. 

The airport 

Using ULN is a pleasant experience and 

since Mongolia introduced visa-free travel 

for many nationalities, immigration has 

become fast and efficient. The terminal 

dates back to 1986 and it is easy to see 

Mongolia was a close ally of the Soviet 

Union when it was built – its layout can be 

confusing and there are several bottlenecks: 

for example narrow staircases and small 

security checkpoints. 

Amenities include shops, a hairdresser and 

a cafe offering free Wi-Fi. Check-in for both 

domestic and international flights is on the 

departures level. Domestic travellers then 

proceed to a waiting lounge downstairs, 

which is devoid of any facilities. From there, 

they are taken to their remotely parked 

aircraft by bus. 

International travellers make their way 

to their own departure lounge which 

includes a few shops and a bar as well 

as a duty-free shop on the floor above. 

Departing Business Class travellers can 

use a small lounge offering snacks and 

beverages and more comfortable seats. 

When boarding, passengers enter a walkway 

leading to four airbridges. But, as arriving 

and departing passengers use the same 

walkway, separation is an issue, and there 

can be confusion when two flights board 



ICAO code: ZMUB 

IATA code: ULN 

Location: 47º 50.35´ N, 106º 46.01´ E 

Elevation: 4,364ft (1,330m) 

Runways: 14/32 – 10,170 x 197ft 

(3,100 x 60m) 

15/33 – 6,560 x 131ft 

(1,999 x 40m) 



Website: http://en.airport.mn 

The airport’s 

small terminal. 

The city has 

been gradually 

encroaching on the 

facility, one of the 

reasons for building 

a new airport 34 

miles (54km) away. 

Aero Mongolia 

Fokker 100 JU-8428 

(now N994JM – c/n 

11428), just prior to 

being returned to its 

lessor in 2011. 

The departure 

lounge can become 

crowded at times 

and amenities are 

limited. 

Stateowned 

MIAT 

Mongolian Airlines 

connects ULN 

with international 

destinations 

including Berlin and 

Frankfurt in Germany, 

using the carrier’s 

two Boeing 767- 

300s – including 

767-3W0 JU-1011 

(c/n 28149). 

(All photos author) 


FEATURE 

MONGOLIA 

The MIAT 

Mongolian Airlines 

headquarters at the 

airport is fronted by 

an Antonov An-2, 

MONGOL-258. 

Hunnu Air’s pair 

of Airbus A319-112s, 

including JU-8888 

(c/n 1706), have 

been returned to 

the lessor, meaning 

the airline has had 

to reduce its route 

network. 

Historic 

Mongolian leaders 

are exhibited on 

the terminal wall, 

reflecting the 

importance they 

still have in the 

country today. 

at the same time. 

Arriving passengers use the lower level 

of the terminal and, after picking up their 

bags and clearing customs and immigration, 

proceed outside where buses and taxis 

await. The only way into the city is by 

car or bus. Depending on traffic (which 

can be quite congested), the trip can take 

anywhere between 30 and 90 minutes. 

Airlines 

State-owned carrier MIAT Mongolian 

Airlines dominates at ULN and connects 

Ulaanbaatar to various Asian hubs – 

including Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong 

Kong – with its fleet of Boeing 737-800s and 

767-300s. An Antonov An-2 sits in front of 

its head office, just across the street from 

the terminal. 

Late last year the carrier launched a new, 

twice-weekly link to Singapore/Changi via 

Beijing. It has also served Berlin for many 

years, usually via Moscow/Sheremetyevo, 

catering to the demand of the many 

Mongolians living in both cities as well as 

increasing numbers of German tourists. 

MIAT also runs a seasonal summer route to 

Frankfurt, flown non-stop by a 767-300 twice 

a week. The route has been a significant 

addition as Frankfurt is one of Europe’s 

largest hubs, offering onward connections 

around the world. The carrier also runs 

charter flights to destinations in Japan, such 

as Shizuoka and Tokyo/Haneda, Pyongyang 

in North Korea, the South Korean island of 

Jeju, Vietnam and Myanmar. 

International carriers at ULN include 

Air China, with a daily flight from Beijing; 

Aeroflot, daily from Moscow; Korean Air, 

six times a week from Seoul; and Turkish 

Airlines, three times a week from Istanbul 

(since 2012) with an intermediate stop in 


FEATURE 

MONGOLIA 

Air China Boeing 737-89L B-5423 (c/n 36742) parked at one 

of the airport’s four airbridges after a flight from Beijing. 

Turkish Airlines added Ulaanbaatar to its network in August 2012 

and offers three-times-a-week flights from its hub in Istanbul. The 

carrier’s Boeing 737-8F2 TC-JVA (c/n 40988) has just landed. 

Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The airline holds 

traffic rights between Ulaanbaatar and 

Bishkek, making it the only carrier to fly 

between both countries. 

Domestic market 

Although MIAT ran domestic flights in the 

past using Antonov turboprops, it has not 

done so recently which has opened up the 

small market to several private carriers. 

As Mongolia’s economy expanded in the 

past decade, so did demand for domestic 

flights – but now, with slower economic 

growth, it has declined. 

As of early 2015, there are two airlines 

flying domestic routes – Hunnu Air (see 

Airliner World, December 2014) and Aero 

Mongolia. Another privately-owned 

carrier, Eznis Airways, stopped flying its 

Avro RJ85s, Saab 340s and Bombardier 

Dash 8-Q400s in August last year. Aero 

Mongolia serves six destinations: Khovd, 

Dalanzadgad, Altai, Ulgii, Ulaangom and 

Oyutolgoi, between two and four times a 

week. It also connects with the Chinese city 

of Hohhot, six times a week; and Irkutsk in 

Russia, three times a week. 

Hunnu Air, which started services as the 

Mongolian Airlines Group in 2012 (changing 

its name to avoid confusion with the stateowned 

Mongolian Airlines) flying domestic 

routes, soon it added a pair of Airbus A319s 

to fly to regional destinations such as Hong 

Kong and Tokyo, and offered flights to Paris 

in summer 2014. When the airline had to 

return the A319s to the lessor recently, most 

of its international routes were suspended 

– except to the Chinese cities of Erenhot, 

Hailar and Manzhouli, which are served 

by Fokker 50s. Flights to the domestic 

destinations of Murun, Khovd, Choibalsan, 

Ulaangom and Uliastai use the same type. 

Another Mongolian carrier, Blue Sky 

Aviation, provides charter flights using 

Cessna Caravans. 

Challenging topography 

The topography and weather conditions 

at ULN can be real obstacles. The airport 

has a single paved 10,170ft (3,100m) runway 

(14/32) capable of handling most aircraft 

types. Next to it is a short grass strip 

(15/33) occasionally used by light aircraft. 

But there are a number of limiting factors. 

With very few exceptions (occasional 

arriving turboprops), landings and takeoffs 

can only be made from and towards the 

north because of mountains to the south 

of the airport – which can be a problem in 

southerly winds. 

Other factors are the runway’s 2.5% slope 

and poor visibility during the cold winter 

months, when Ulaanbaatar becomes one 

Passengers 

board a Hunnu 

Air Fokker 50 prior 

to departure to 

Murun, one of the 

carrier’s domestic 

destinations. 

Aero Mongolia 

has a fleet of four 

Fokker 50s, among 

them JU-8251 (c/n 

20251), which 

is taxiing to the 

departure runway 

in front of some 

beautiful Mongolian 

scenery. 


FEATURE 

MONGOLIA 

A Boeing 727 

tail in front of MIAT 

Mongolian Airlines’ 

maintenance 

hangar; a reminder 

that the carrier once 

flew the type. 

One of Hannu 

Air’s two A319- 

112s – prior to 

them being returned 

to the lessor – 

prepares to depart 

to Paris/Charles de 

Gaulle, a route the 

carrier no longer 

serves. 

The terminal’s 

architecture 

follows traditional 

Mongolian lines, 

although its internal 

layout is not the 

Scheduled Airlines 

Aero Mongolia 

Aeroflot 

Air China 

Hunnu Air 

Korean Air 

Turkish Airlines 

of the most polluted cities in the world: 

many Mongolians fire up their old coal 

stoves, thick smoke from which sits in the 

air and makes it hard to breathe. It also 

reduces visibility significantly. 

Ulaanbaatar is the only airport in Mongolia 

with aircraft maintenance facilities. 

Mongolian Airlines uses its own, and before 

it ceased flying Eznis Airways set up a 

smaller hangar next door. 

While some of Mongolia’s small domestic 

airports have seen upgrades in recent years, 

the two nearest suitable diversion airfields 

for Ulaanbaatar are outside Mongolia – 

Ulan-Ude and Irkutsk in Russia, which have 

better infrastructure. 

New airport 

Capacity issues at ULN were unlikely to have 

been behind the decision to build a new 

airport as the terminal can easily handle 

current traffic levels. While reasonably 

pleasant to use, ULN is clearly outdated 

and, as Mongolia’s economy improved, 

building a larger, more capable airport 

for the capital became a priority. The 

Mongolian Government deciding in 2008 

to go ahead with its construction. 

Japan provided the country with a loan to 

finance the project and work on the New 

Ulaanbaatar International Airport (NUBIA) 

began in a valley 34 miles (54km) south of 

the city in 2013. Expected to open next year, 

it will have two runways and a passenger 

capacity three times the 600,000 ULN was 

originally designed to handle. 

More information about the new airport 

can be found on the project website: 

www.nubia.mn 

Until the new facility opens next year, 

passengers will continue using ULN, which 

is closer to the city, but not the most 

impressive of international airports. Its 

replacement on the other hand, should 

provide the opportunity to vastly improve 

the passenger experience, and keep pace 

with the steadily increasing flow of 

tourists eager to explore this fascinating 

country. 


UK VISITORS 

GALLERY 

London/Heathrow 

Bournemouth 


This section contains 

a selection of images 

of visiting aircraft from 

airports around the UK. 

For the most part, they are 

commercial, but almost all 

of them are either unusual 

types, wearing new or 

unique liveries, or first visits 

by an airline or airliner to 

a particular airport. So if 

you are out and about and 

see something out of the 

ordinary, please send in 

your photos. As most of 

the world now works with 

digital media, photos 

can be sent by e-mail 

to mark.nicholls@ 

keypublishing.com. Please 

ensure that you provide 

details with any images, 

especially the relevant 

date, location, airline 

names and aircraft identity. 

Kenya Airways 

Boeing 777-36ER 

5Y-KZY (c/n 41819) 

arrived at London/ 

Heathrow on January 

19 after being diverted 

from Amsterdam/ 

Schiphol due to fog. 

(A J Best) 

Former Monarch Airlines 

Airbus A320-214 G-ZBAA (c/n 

5526) was noted at Birmingham 

on February 8 prior to delivery 

to new owner Frontier Airlines as 

N228FR. (Charles Cunliffe) 

Ukraine Air Alliance Antonov 

An-12B UR-CAK (c/n 6343707) 

departs London/Stansted bound for 

Algeria on January 17. (Ben Luck) 

Icelandair’s 

colourful Boeing 

757-256 TF-FIU (c/n 

26243), made its first 

appearance at London/ 

Heathrow wearing 

its stunning Aurora 

Borealis scheme on 

December 20, 2014. 

(A J Best) 

Worldwide 

Aircraft Holding Boeing 

747SP-21 VP-BAT 

(21648) departs 

Bournemouth Airport for 

Doha as ‘World Wide 

One’ on January 20. 

The aircraft is based 

at Bournemouth and 

registered in Bermuda, 

but is expected to be 

replaced by a 747-8I 

(VQ-BSK). 

(Charles Cunliffe) 

London/Stansted 

Birmingham 


UK VISITORS 

GALLERY 

Kalstar Aviation 

Embraer E195 G-FBEA 

(c/n 19000029 – 

ex-Flybe) at Exeter 

on December 25, 

2014. The aircraft 

had arrived back from 

Norwich Airport after 

being repainted. 

(Ian Simpson) 

Exeter 

Enter Air Boeing 

737-4Q8 SP-ENA 

(c/n 26320) departs 

from Cardiff on a 

positioning flight 

to Birmingham on 

December 16, 2014. 

It had performed 

a ‘Santa’ flight to 

Enontekio in Lapland 

two day previously. 

(Phil Woods) 

TAM Linhas Aéreas 


PT-MVS (c/n 1112) 

was used on the 

carrier’s flight from 

São Paulo to London/ 

Heathrow on January 

19 in place of the 

usual Boeing 777- 

300ER. (Tom Smith) 

Cardiff 


Lasham 

East Midlands 

Former Ikar Boeing 

757-2Q8 VQ-BBT 

(c/n 29443), wearing 

Pegas markings, 

arrived at Lasham for 

storage on December 

28, 2014. Due to the 

worsening situation 

for several Russian 

carriers five other 

757s were already 

stored at Lasham 

and two more from 

Nordwind joined 

them two days later. 

(Richard Vandervord) 

Immaculate Vulkan 

Air Antonov An-26B 

EW-378TG (c/n 

37313306) parked in 

the sunshine at East 

Midlands on February 

9 (it arrived on the 

5th). (Karl Nixon) 


UK VISITORS 

GALLERY 

London/Luton 

Glasgow/Prestwick 

MNG Airlines Airbus A300B4- 

622R(F) TC-MCC (c/n 734) touches 

down at London/Luton on December 

24, 2014. Although not a unusual, 

they are rarely seen in daylight at 

Luton. (Richard Vandervord) 

Iraqi Airways Boeing 737-81Z 

YI-ASQ (c/n 40079) passed through 

Glasgow/Prestwick on delivery to 

the carrier on December 24, 2014. 

(Michael McQuade) 

Birmingham 

Denim Air Fokker 100 PH-LND 

(c/n 11320) at Birmingham on 

December 24, 2014. It was taking 

violinist and conductor André Rieu 

and the Johann Strauss Orchestra to 

Maastricht in the Netherlands after 

a performance at the LG Arena the 

previous evening. (Ian Johnson) 


Air India Boeing 747- 

437 VT-EVA (c/n 28094) 

comes in to land at London/ 

Heathrow on December 14, 

2014. Something of a rarity 

in the UK since the carrier 

acquired its 777s. 

(Andrew Whitaker) 

Manchester 

The first visit to 

Manchester by a HOP! 

Embraer 170 took place on 

February 5 when F-HBXP 

(c/n 17000036) arrived 

with a rugby charter. 

(Nik French) 


Abu Dh 

Airport-in-W 


ABU DHABI 


abi 

aiting 


ABU DHABI 

With the opening of Abu Dhabi International’s new 

midfield terminal two years away, Luigi Vallero pays a visit 

to see what’s being done to manage demand until then. 

The Abu Dhabi Airports Company 

(ADAC) has continued to invest in 

Abu Dhabi International Airport’s 

(AUH’s) existing infrastructure to 

meet rapidly increasing demand, even 

though its futuristic 30mppa Midfield 

Terminal Complex (MTC) is due to be 

finished in 2017. 

United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based ADAC 

reported an impressive 23.9% growth in 

passenger numbers during September 

2014 compared to the same month the 

previous year, registering 1,696,651. 

Aircraft movements rose by 14.9% yearon-year 

to 13,070. Doha, London, Bangkok, 

Manila and Mumbai were the busiest routes, 

accounting for 15% of traffic. 

Most of this has been driven by the 

rapidly expanding Etihad Airways (see the 

March issue of Airliner World) which has 

recently introduced the Airbus A380 and 

the Boeing 787 to its fleet. The carrier has 

established an impressive list of partner 

airlines, which is strengthening its vast 

route network on top of new destinations 

it plans to serve. 

Meeting demand 

The first buttress for the main structural 

steel arches of the MTC were placed in 

October 2013 and work is progressing 

rapidly in the desert (see the February 

issue of Airliner World). The vast project, 

currently the largest construction job in the 

Middle East, is a clear indication of ADAC’s 

intent to rival its neighbour Dubai, but more 

capacity will be required at the existing 

airport until the MTC opens. 

To achieve this ADAC established the 

Capacity Enhancement Programme to enable 

AUH to handle more passengers through 

continuous enhancements to the existing 

facilities, such as a new arrivals hall, which 

opened at the beginning of 2013. Further 

construction includes the remodelling of 

Terminal 1, which is being modified and 

expanded to help to accommodate an 

anticipated 20mppa by 2017. 

To improve the shopping experience for 

passengers and the communities living 

close to the airport, the range of customer 

services in the Skypark Plaza beside 

Terminal 3 has been supplemented by new 

tenants. Among the new amenities are 

more services and retail options, including 

a spa, souvenir shop, optical and hair 

dressing services, fashion and accessories 

outlets and even a supermarket. Retail 

space has also been reserved for the 

Khalifa Fund for Development to provide 

support and retail space for Emirati 

entrepreneurs. 

Commenting on the Skypark Plaza, 

Mohammed Al Bulooki, ADAC’s Chief 

Commercial Officer, said: “Abu Dhabi 

Airports is delighted to welcome Starter 

Supermarket to Skypark Plaza. The team 

believes there’s a growing demand for 

quality convenience shopping in this 

location to serve the local community 

and so, in line with the company’s strategy 

to expand Abu Dhabi International 

Airport’s retail offering and enhance its 

customers’ experience, we’re progressing 

with a variety of new ideas, concepts and 

improvements.” 

The supermarket is open between 06:00 

and midnight, seven days a week, and is 

stocked with a full range of items, fresh 

produce, frozen foods and has its own 

bakery. It is accessible to the public from 

the Terminal 3 car park. 

The Skypark Plaza 

beside Terminal 

3 has welcomed 

new tenants and 

now offers a wide 

range of services 

as well as retail and 

refreshment options. 

(All photos author 

unless stated) 

Etihad Airways 

is poised for rapid 

expansion at AUH 

once the new MTC 

opens in July 2017. 

Airport operator 

ADAC has upgraded 

existing facilities 

to cope until then. 


com/BaoLuo) 

Construction 

work is well under 

way on the sevenstorey 

main terminal 

building, which 

will be larger than 

London/Heathrow’s 

T5 when finished. 

With passenger 

numbers rising at 

more than 20% a 

year, the current 

infrastructure has 

struggled to cope. 



ABU DHABI 

The renovated Al 

Reem Lounge was 

unveiled in T1 on 

October 28 last year. 

The on-airport 

Premier Inn 

offers good value 

for money and 

excellent views from 

its pool deck. 

One of the first 

projects in the 

airport’s expansion 

programme was the 

distinctive crescentshaped 

air traffic 

control tower. 

The Skypark Plaza is a pleasant place to 

shop and pass the time and has a modern 

yet distinctly Arabic feel. Dining options 

include a McDonald’s, a Hatam traditional 

Iranian food outlet and an O’Brien Irishstyle 

fast food establishment. 

Upgrades 

Airport operator ADAC has entered a 

partnership with Hong Kong-based Plaza 

Premium Lounge Management Limited 

(PPLML) for the renovation, management 

and running of AUH’s airside hotel and 

its lounges in T1 and T2. The newly 

renovated Al Reem Lounge in T1 was 

unveiled as part of the deal on October 

28 last year. 

The completely redesigned 4,500 sq 

ft (418m 2 ) lounge has a contemporary 

look defined by designer Kinney Chan 

of KCA Associates and occupies three 

levels. Providing comfort and convenience 

to travellers and aiming to deliver a 

luxurious ambience, the PPLML team 

has introduced detailed touches, such as a 

large chandelier. An improved buffet area 

offers meals ranging from freshly prepared 

Arabic, Asian and Continental dishes. The 

lounge also features free Wi-Fi, laptops 

on request and a fully-serviced shower 

room, and mainly caters for Business 

Class passengers. 

Elsewhere the Al Dhabi and Al Ghazal 

Lounges and the airside hotel will be 

given a complete facelift. With continuous 

improvements aimed at satisfying even the 

most demanding passengers’ requirements, 

the ‘Abu Dhabi Travellers Welcome’ 

advertising campaign aims to live up to 

its claim. 

Airlines at AUH 

(summer 2014) 

Aegean Airlines 

Air Astana 

airBaltic 

airberlin 

Air France 

Airblue 

Air India 

Air India Express 

Air Serbia 

Air Seychelles 

Alitalia 

Azerbaijan Airlines 

Biman Bangladesh 

Airlines 

British Airways 

Cathay Pacific 

Airways 

EgyptAir 

Ethiopian Airlines 

Garuda Indonesia 

Gulf Air 

Hainan Airlines 

Jet Airways 

Kenya Airways 

Kish Air 

KLM 

Kuwait Airways 

Lufthansa 

Middle East Airlines 

Nas Air 

Oman Air 

Pakistan 

International Airlines 

Philippine Airlines 

Qatar Airways 

Rotana Jet 

Royal Jordanian 

S7 Airlines 

Saudia 

Shaheen Air 

International 

SriLankan Airlines 

Sudan Airways 

Turkish Airlines 

Turkmenistan 

Airlines 

Uzbekistan Airways 

Virgin Australia 

Yemenia 



ABU DHABI 

Hotel 

Directly connected to Skypark, T1 and T3, 

a three-star Premier Inn Hotel opened in 

December 2013 under the watchful gaze of 

ADAC Chairman His Excellency Ali Majed Al 

Mansoori. The 300-room property features 

food and beverage outlets – including a 

Costa coffee shop and a Mediterraneanstyle 

restaurant – conference and meeting 

rooms for up to 75 people plus leisure 

facilities including an outdoor swimming 

pool on the seventh floor and a gym. Free 

Wi-Fi is available in guest rooms and the 

hotel is well appointed, despite offering 

budget prices. 

Another plus is the hotel’s close proximity to 

Yas Island, home to the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand 

Prix and several tourist attractions as well as 

the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. The Abu 

Dhabi Corniche recreation and shopping 

area can be reached in less than half an 

hour using a free hotel shuttle bus or by taxi. 

On the opening day of the hotel chain’s fifth 

property in the region, Darroch Crawford, 

Managing Director of Premier Inn in the 

Middle East, said: “We’re delighted to 

be opening the first major hotel at Abu 

Dhabi International Airport and drive 

further growth for, and in collaboration 

with, Abu Dhabi Airports. Premier Inn’s 

successful formula, offering a hotel 

service in prominent locations at valuefor-money 

prices, will ensure our customer 

base, which includes both business and 

leisure travellers, will continue to increase 

dramatically in the region.” 

Although the hotel rooms don’t offer 

direct views across the airport apron – the 

main building, being perpendicular to the 

runway, affording only limited views of 

the airport – the seventh floor swimming 

pool is the perfect location for the aviation 

enthusiast. Here, in comfort and with no 

worries regarding security issues, you have a 

superb view of AUH’s apron and runway and 

can spend time watching the comings and 

goings while enjoying a swim or a cool drink. 

The pool opens between 07:00 and 22:00, 

meaning night shots are also possible – 

though a sturdy tripod is recommended. 

Using a 300mm (or larger) lens, good 

action shots can be taken of aircraft taking 

off from Runway 12R/30L or 13R/31L, the 

stunning crescent-shaped control tower 

providing a dramatic backdrop. Morning 

hours (between 08:00 and 12:00) or late 

afternoon (17:00 to 21:00) are best as 

they coincide with the two main Etihad 

movement ‘waves’ providing almost 

uninterrupted landing and take-offs. The 

afternoon is usually very quiet. 

The author found the hotel excellent value 

for money with great, friendly service – 

offering the aviation enthusiast and traveller 

alike a high standard at a fraction of the 

cost normally associated with airport hotels 

– as low as 250 AED (€45) per night for a 

twin room booked in advance. For more 

details visit: www.premierinn.ae 

Rebirth 

Other major infrastructure work has 

already been completed. In 2009 the 

13,450ft (4,100m) northern runway opened, 

capable of handling aircraft up to the size 

of an Airbus A380. The same year saw T3 

finished, giving Etihad Airways a dedicated 

terminal able to accommodate 5mppa. 

In 2010, ADAC undertook a ten-month 

refurbishment of T1 to improve the 

customer experience and align its design 

and operations closer to those of T3. A 

year later, a new 360ft-tall (110m) air traffic 

control tower was commissioned. 

Preparatory work for the MTC, such as 

piling and laying foundations, was finished 

in 2011 and construction on the terminal 

began in August 2012. Since then the 

primary structure has risen from the desert. 

Building work has progressed rapidly, 

with around 15,000 personnel on the site 

working split shifts of up to 20 hours per 

day. The central part of the terminal is 

advancing quickly and the steel framework 

for the four piers is now in place. 

Once finished the terminal will be larger 

than T5 at London/Heathrow; it will have 

165 conventional check-in counters, 48 

self-service kiosks and is designed to handle 

8,500 passengers per hour. The piers will 

have 47 aircraft gates, giving the terminal 

an overall capacity to handle up to 65 jets 

at one time with an additional 14 remote 

parking stands. Final fitting-out is 

scheduled for 2016 followed by extensive 

testing prior to opening on July 17, 2017. 

Abu Dhabi and Etihad Airways will then 

have a world-class facility with which to 

compete in the Middle East aviation market 

– arguably the world’s most affluent. 

An impression of 

the new MTC at Abu 

Dhabi International, 

scheduled to open 

on July 17, 2017. 

(ADAC) 


FEATURE 

GUAYAQUIL 

Ecuadorian 

Swansong 

Sebastian Schmitz reports from Guayaquil’s José Joaquín de Olmedo International 

Airport, a few years before its replacement by a new out-of-town facility. 

AeroGal is now 

known as Avianca 

Ecuador and is one 

of three carriers 

competing on the 

lucrative route Quito. 

The airline’s Airbus 

A319-112 HC-CKL 

(c/n 1866) is 

prepared for its next 

flight. (All photos 

author) 

Ecuador 

Peru 


ICAO Code: 

IATA Code: 

Location: 

Elevation: 

Runway: 

SEGU 

GYE 

02° 09.26’ S, 79° 53.00’ W 

19ft (6m) 

03/21 9,154 x 151ft 

(2,790 x 46m) 


Tower: 118.3 

Ground: 121.9 


Website: www.tagsa.aero 

Colombia 

Brazil 

Guayaquil is Ecuador’s largest 

city, a major commercial centre 

and a hub for transportation, 

although it is yet to achieve 

tourist attraction status. Yet, during a visit 

to the country, travellers are likely to make the 

acquaintance of Guayaquil’s José Joaquín de 

Olmedo Airport (GYE) and even more likely 

to find it a very pleasant experience. 

A strong second place 

Follo wing major upgrades, Ecuador’s second 

busiest airport (after the new Quito Airport 

which opened in 2013) is one of the most 

modern in Latin America, with a wellappointed 

terminal and offering a wide range 

of domestic and international connections. It 

is just over 3 miles (5km) from the city centre 

so extremely convenient. However, as it is 

surrounded by homes and industry it cannot 

grow at the current location. Plans for a new 

airport outside the city are already in place 

and construction is set to start in 2019 with 

a planned opening five years later. By that 

time, in spite of its impressive new terminal, 

GYE will probably be operating beyond its 

design capacity. 

Corporación América, an Argentinean 

holding company, was awarded the 

concession to run the airport in 2004. The 

firm has stakes in more than 50 airports 

around the world, including Argentina, 

Uruguay and Armenia. A separate company 

was established to run Guayaquil Airport – 

TAGSA (Terminal Aeroportuaria de Guayaquil 

SA) and construction of the new terminal 

began immediately after the concession 

contract was signed. In 2008, the deal 

was extended from 15 to 20 years, and now 

runs until 2024 when the new facility is 

due to open. 


The modern terminal opened in July 2006 

and replaced a much smaller structure at 

the southern end of the airport, which was 

subsequently converted into an exhibition 

centre. To coincide with the new terminal 

inauguration, the airport’s name was 

changed from ‘Simón Bolívar’ to ‘José 

Joaquín de Olmedo’, a famous Guayaquilborn 

Ecuadorian poet and driving force 

behind the country’s fight for independence 

from Spain (which occurred in 1830) and 

who later became the Ecuadorian president. 

Although the terminal is already eight 

years old, the building still has a ‘brand 

new’ feel to it. 


FEATURE 

GUAYAQUIL 

Last August an extension of the domestic 

part of the terminal opened, adding 107,642sq 

ft (10,000m 2 ) of floor space to the previous 

538,213sq ft (50,000m 2 ) and increasing 

capacity to 7mppa. Three airbridges were 

added, bringing the total to ten. 

Inside, passengers will find one big 

departure hall with check-in to the right 

for domestic flights and left for international 

destinations. Both sections have their own 

security screening points and internationally 

bound travellers pass through passport 

control and the well-stocked duty free shop 

before reaching the departure lounge. Both 

landside and airside, the airport offers a 

wide selection of cafes, restaurants and 

shops. Plentiful full-height glazing provides 

excellent views of the taxiway and runway 

and good opportunities for photographers. 

For passengers arriving late in the evening 

or early in the morning, there is a Holiday 

Inn Hotel available just a few steps from 

the terminal, although it also has a 

complimentary shuttle bus. 

Airlines and traffic 

The airport welcomed 3.88 million 

passengers in 2013, an increase of around 

80,000 compared with the previous year. 

Of this number, about two million travelled 

domestically (most of them to and from 

the capital Quito). While domestic traffic 

has declined during the past few years, 

international passenger numbers have 

risen steadily to just over 1.8 million in 2013. 

Apart from scheduled flying, General 

Aviation plays an important role at GYE. 

Several flying schools are based at GYE 

to take advantage of the predominantly 

stable weather conditions, however, small 

General Aviation types have to share the 

single runway with commercial arrivals and 

departures – as well as executive jets. The 

Ecuadorian Air Force has its Simón Bolívar 

Air Base on the opposite side of the runway 

from the passenger terminal. The base 

generates the occasional movement with 

light aircraft and helicopters, but also 

During the early 

morning the checkin 

area gets very 

busy although the 

departure hall is 

spacious enough to 

never feel crowded. 

American Airlines 

is the only US carrier 

flying to Guayaquil. 

One of its Boeing 

737-823s, N944AN 

(c/n 29535) is 

pushed back before 

leaving for Miami. 

One of three 

ATR 42-500s used 

by TAME Express, 

HC-CMB (c/n 849) 

is used on thinner 

domestic routes 

within Ecuador. 

The airport’s 

modern terminal, 

from the nearby 

Holiday Inn Hotel, 

gives a good idea 

of how GYE is 

surrounded by urban 

development. 


FEATURE 

GUAYAQUIL 

One of the 

souvenir shops in the 

departure lounge. 

TAME Airbus 

A319-132 HC-CGT 

(c/n 2659) 

awaits its last few 

passengers before 

departing to Quito, 

Ecuador’s busiest 

air route. 

The 

domestic departure 

lounge is often quite 

busy, particularly 

with passengers 

flying to Quito. 

(Not for airborne or 



larger aircraft such as Boeing 737-200s or 

Hawker Siddeley 748s. 

All Ecuadorian scheduled airlines serve GYE 

with numerous daily flights. The undisputed 

trunk route is to Quito and between the three 

main carriers – TAME, LAN and AeroGal (now 

Avianca Ecuador) – there are up to 25 flights 

a day, most by Airbus 320 Family aircraft. 

Another very busy route is to the Galápagos 

Islands (see Airports of the World, issue 53, 

p38), just under two hours’ flying from GYE, 

and one of the top tourist attractions in South 

America. Flights to the Galápagos, although 

often originating in Quito, usually stop in 

Guayaquil and up to six a day are available to 

the islands’Baltra Airport, and up to three a 

day to the less busy facility at San Cristobal. 

TAME is the only domestic carrier with 

flights to destinations other than Quito or the 

Galápagos Islands – it flies to Cuenca three 

times on weekdays, Loja twice and the cities 

of Latacunga and Esmeraldas once a day. 

Internationally, Madrid and Amsterdam 

are the two best connected European 

destinations. Iberia used to be a daily 

visitor to Guayaquil, flying a triangular 

Madrid-Quito-Guayaquil-Madrid route. Nonstop 

departures to Europe were not possible 

from Quito’s old airport, which prompted 

the eastbound return flight to come via 

Guayaquil. However, since the new Quito 

Airport opened, Iberia is able to fly non-stop 

and so just four out of seven weekly flights 

now use GYE. LAN complements Iberia’s 

Spanish connection with three 767 services 

a week to Madrid. 

However, Netherlands flag carrier KLM has 

stuck with the triangular routing through 

Quito to Guayaquil and back to Amsterdam 

using a 777 on a daily flight. The busiest route 

to North America is to New York, where a 

large Ecuadorian diaspora lives. LAN offers 

a daily 767 link to New York/John F Kennedy 

Airport, while in competition TAME launched 

A LAN Airbus 

A320 parked 

at one of the 

domestic gates, 

not all of which 

are equipped with 

airbridges. 

One of the few TAME aircraft still wearing the 

carrier’s old colours – Embraer 190 HC-CGF (c/n 

19000137) – prepares to depart to Panama City. 


FEATURE 

GUAYAQUIL 

widebody flights last year using its first A330 

on its daily flight to JFK. There was talk of 

moving this service to Quito, but for now it 

continues to depart from GYE. 

A second link between Guayaquil and the 

US is provided by American Airlines’ two 

daily flights to Miami. Depending on the 

season these can use either a 737-800 

or a 767. Until recently, AeroGal offered 

widebody flights to the US using 757s and 

767s. When the airline was acquired by 

Avianca in 2009, the decision was made to 

route all long-haul services through Bogota, 

Columbia and strengthen the carrier’s main 

hub. Avianca also serves its secondary hubs 

in Lima and San Salvador with a daily flight. 

A fierce competitor of Avianca, Copa 

Airlines, offers four daily links to its hub 

in Panama City and provides numerous 

connections from there. The Peruvian capital 

Lima is served daily by LAN, as are Santiago 

de Chile (one flight a day) and Buenos Aires’ 

Ezeiza Airport with five flights. There are 

currently no direct flights from GYE to Brazil. 

New airport 

The growth rates of GYE in recent years 

mean it is only a matter of time before it 

reaches its limits in terminal space and 

runway capacity. Surrounded by urban 

development, there is very little room for 

expansion and so a site has been identified 

for an entirely new airport for the city. The 

new facility will be built in Daular, 

approximately 20 miles (32km) to the 

southwest of central Guayaquil. In a first 

phase, it will have two parallel runways, the 

longest measuring 13,451ft (4,100m). Until 

it is available for commercial flights, GYE’s 

operator TAGSA will continue to invest in 

the existing airport to ensure it remains 

modern and easy to use – two of the reasons 

it is still one of Latin America’s most 

popular airports. 

Panama hats (first developed in Ecuador) are popular 

with tourists and are on sale in several airport shops. 

Charging stations for mobile 

phones and other electronic 

devices can be found 

throughout the terminal. 


NEXT ISSUE 

ON SALE APRIL 23 

(AirTeamImages.com/Carl Ford) 

London/Southend 

Celebrating 80 years 

Brisbane – Australian hot spot 

Belfast City – Remembering George Best 

Tinian – Pacifi c paradise 

Paris/Charles de Gaulle – French mega-hub 

Quito – Serving the Ecuadorian capital 

Plus – All the latest airport news and much more 

MAY – JUNE 2015 ISSUE ON SALE APRIL 23 rd* 

We explain some of the abbreviations and 

acronyms that regularly appear in the pages of 

Airports of the World. These details will be updated 

and added to as necessary. 

dB 

DfT 

DME 

EASA 

Decibel 

Department for Transport (UK) 

Distance-Measuring Equipment 

European Aviation Safety Agency 

IACA 

IAP 

IATA 

ICAO 

International Air Carrier Association 

International Airport 

International Air Transport Association 

International Civil Aviation Organization 

NATO 

NBAA 

NBC 

North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 

National Business Aircraft Association (US) 

Nuclear, Biological and Chemical 

(warfare) 

AAIB Air Accidents Investigation Branch (UK) 

ACAS Airborne Collision-Avoidance System 

ACI Airports Council International 

ADR Accident Data Recorder 

AG Aktiengesellschaft (German: joint stock company) 

ALPA Air Line Pilots Association (US) 

ANS Airborne Navigation System 

APU Auxiliary Power Unit 

ATA Air Transport Association (US) 

ATC Air Traffic Control 

ATP Advanced Turbo-Prop (BAe) 

ATS Air Traffic Service 

BAe British Aerospace (now renamed BAE Systems) 

CAA Civil Aviation Authority (UK) 

CDA Continuous Descent Approach 

CEO Chief Executive Officer 

CIS Commonwealth of Independent States 

c/n 

Construction Number 

combi Aircraft which routinely carries both passengers 

and cargo at same time 

COO Chief Operating Officer 

CVR Cockpit Voice Recorder 

ERAA 

EROPS 

ETOPS 

ETS 

FAA 

FAI 

FAR 

FBO 

FDR 

European Regions Airline Association 

Extended-Range OPerationS 

Extended-range Twin-engine OPerationS 

Emissions Trading Scheme 

Federal Aviation Administration (US) 

Féderation Aeronautique Internationale 

Federal Aviation Regulations 

Fixed Base Operator 

Flight Data Recorder 

FL 

Flight Level (usually expressed in hundreds of feet) 

FOD Foreign Object Damage 

GA 

General Aviation 

GAO General Accounting Office (US) 

GAPAN Guild of Air Pilots And Navigators 

GDP Gross Domestic Product 

GECAS General Electric Commercial Aviation Services 

GmbH Gesellschaft mit beschraenkter Haftung 

(German: limited liability company) 

GMT 

GNS 

GPS 

GPU 

HQ 

Greenwich Mean Time 

Global Navigation System 

Global Positioning System 

Ground Power Unit 

Headquarters 

IFALPA International Federation of Air Line Pilots 

Associations 

IFR 

Instrument Flight Rules 

ILFC 

ILS 

IMC 

INS 

JAA 

LCC 

LCD 

LED 

localiser 

LORAN 

MD 

MLS 

MLW 

MoD 

MoU 

MPPA 

MRO 

MTOW 

NASA 

International Lease Finance Corporation 

Instrument Landing System 

Instrument Meteorological Conditions 

Inertial Navigation System 

Joint Aviation Authorities (European) 

Low-Cost Carrier 

Liquid Crystal Display 

Light-Emitting Diode 

Steering guidance element of an LS system 

Long Range Aid to Navigation 

Managing Director 

Microwave Landing System 

Maximum Landing Weight 

Ministry of Defence 

Memorandum of Understanding 

Million Passengers Per Annum 

Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul 

Maximum Take-Off Weight 

National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration 

OFT 

PAPI 

PAR 

pax 

P&W 

PPL 

PR 

RAF 

RFP 

RVR 

SARS 

SID 

STOL 

TCAS 

TSA 

UN 

VASI 

VFR 

VMC 

VOR 

WTTC 

Office of Fair Trading (UK) 

Precision Approach Path Indicator 

Precision Approach Radar 

Passenger 

Pratt & Whitney 

Private Pilot’s Licence 

Public Relations 

Royal Air Force 

Request for Proposals 

Runway Visual Range 

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome 

Standard Instrument Departure 

Short Take-Off & Landing 

Traffic alert and Collision-Avoidance 

System 

Transportation Security Administration 

United Nations 

Visual Approach Slope Indicator 

Visual Flight Rules 

Visual Meteorological Conditions 

VHF omni-directional range 

(radio beacons) 

World Travel and Tourism Council 

82 airports of the world 

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