Newcastle International Airport (IATA: NCL, ICAO: EGNT) is an international airport located near the main area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, about 6.5 miles (10.5km) north-west of the city centre. In 2016 it was the 11th busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the second busiest in Northern England after Manchester Airport, handling over 4.8 million passengers. Newcastle Airport has a Civil Aviation Authority Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P725) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.
Video Newcastle Airport
Ownership
The airport is owned by seven local authorities (51%) and AMP Capital (49%). The seven local authorities are: City of Newcastle, City of Sunderland, Durham County Council, Gateshead MBC, North Tyneside MBC, Northumberland County Council, and South Tyneside MBC. In October 2012 Copenhagen Airport sold its stake in the airport to AMP Capital.
Maps Newcastle Airport
Area served
The airport mainly serves the City of Newcastle, the greater Tyneside area, Northumberland and Wearside. The airport competes with the smaller Durham Tees Valley Airport for passengers travelling from and to County Durham and Teesside. Passengers from Cumbria, North Yorkshire and southern Scotland also use the airport; the nearest similar-sized airports are Leeds Bradford Airport to the south and the larger Edinburgh and Glasgow airports to the north. In terms of passenger numbers, Newcastle is the second largest airport in the North of England, after Manchester Airport.
History
The airport was opened on 26 July 1935 as Woolsington Aerodrome by the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Phillip Cunliffe-Lister. Incorporating a clubhouse, hangar, workshops, fuel garage and grass runway, it cost £35,000 to build.
A new runway was built, along with an apron and a new air traffic control tower. These new additions were opened by the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson on 17 February 1967.
In the 1970s, with passenger figures approaching one million per year, the airport's status was changed to Category B, making it a regional international airport; in the same decade it was re-branded as Newcastle Airport. The 1980s saw further investment in check-in, catering and duty-free shops. In 1991, Airport Metro station opened, connecting the airport with Newcastle city centre using the Tyne & Wear Metro system.
Since the 2000s
In August 2004, an extended and refurbished Departure Terminal was opened. The refurbishment included a 3,000 square metre extension with new shops, cafes and 1,200 new seats for waiting passengers.
In 2006, a record 5.4 million passengers used the airport, according to Civil Aviation Authority figures.
Rapid expansion in passenger traffic has led to increasing commercial use of the south side of the airport. This was previously used for general aviation, but is now used for freight, mail and corporate flights. This is partially due to difficulties obtaining departure and arrival slots for light aircraft traffic, which need to be separated from larger aircraft to protect against wake turbulence. As part of the Airport Master Plan, the south-side area is to be expanded with maintenance facilities including new hangar and apron areas.
In January 2007 it was announced that Emirates were to begin a daily non-stop service to Dubai from the airport. This service started on 7 September 2007 and has operated ever since. Until 2012, the route was flown by an Airbus A330. Since September 2012 it has been flown by a Boeing 777.
In August 2016, United Airlines announced it would discontinue its seasonal route from Newark to Newcastle in 2017, citing economic reasons. Thus Newcastle Airport lost one of its two long-haul services. The other long-haul route is currently flown by Emirates to Dubai-International.
In July 2017, it was announced that the airport would be investing £3 million on a terminal expansion project which is part of overall £20 million improvement plans running from 2016 to 2017. This £20m improvement plan included a new radar system alongside digital signage in the check-in areas and the installation of new flooring.
The £3m plan includes an extension to the terminal by 4,800 sq ft (450 m2) and will increase the equipment in the security hall, bringing in improved technology to speed up procedures there. This was due to be constructed over the winter of 2017/2018.
Cargo and freight facilities
Newcastle Airport Freight Village is south of the airport and includes Emirates SkyCargo, FedEx, Servisair Cargo and North East Air Cargo company offices which deal with freight exports and imports and mail. It also houses freight forwarding agents such as Casper Logistics Ltd, Kintetsu World Express, Kuehne & Nagel, Nippon Express, Schenker International, Davis Turner Air Cargo and Universal Forwarding.
In April 2016, Emirates reported that flown exports have soared to £310m a year since the arrival of the Emirates service from Newcastle to Dubai. The Dubai route contributes some £600m to the economy and has opened unlimited export avenues to North East firms, some of whom have opened offices in the United Arab Emirates.
All cargo operations are based on the southern apron.
Other airport facilities
The airport is also home to the Newcastle Airport Fire Academy. The Newcastle Aviation Academy is also located within this area. When Gill Airways existed, its head office was in the New Aviation House, on the airport property.
The south side of the airport also has bases for Great North Air Ambulance and NPAS Newcastle Helicopter. They normally have one respective helicopter based here at a time but are known to rotate their fleet around bases. The area also holds maintenance workshops for the airport and various other depots for airport-run services like Alpha Catering.
Airlines and destinations
Passenger
The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter services to and from Newcastle:
Cargo
Accidents and incidents
- 30 November 2000 - A Piper Aerostar registered N64719 en route to Iceland crashed close to Fearnoch, on the north side of Loch Tay in Perthshire, killing the single crewmember. The aircraft had departed from Newcastle Airport. The accident report concluded that the aircraft gradually lost airspeed during an icing encounter, before stalling and the pilot losing control.
Statistics
The airport saw significant growth in the ten years to 2007, when passenger numbers peaked at 5.65 million, more than double the number handled ten years earlier. Passenger numbers declined in the subsequent four years due to the financial crisis of 2007-2010, with around 4.8 million passengers passing through the airport in 2016 (close to the 2004 total), although cargo volumes have broadly increased to record levels since 2005.
Traffic figures
Busiest routes
Ground transport
Metro
Airport station on the Tyne & Wear Metro is directly connected to the terminal through an indoor walkway. The station is the northern terminus of the green line with frequent direct services to all the main Newcastle and Sunderland stations (approx 20 and 50 minutes respectively).
Road transport
The airport is connected to the A1 trunk road by the A696 dual carriageway. A half-hourly bus service links the airport to the nearby villages of Ponteland and Darras Hall, as well as to the City Centre.
References
External links
Media related to Newcastle Airport at Wikimedia Commons
- Official website
Source of article : Wikipedia
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