Aberdeen International Airport is an international airport, located at Dyce,
a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, approximately 5 nautical miles northwest
of Aberdeen city centre. A total of over 3.7 million passengers used the airport
in 2014, an increase of 8.2% compared with 2013 and a record annual total for
the airport. The airport is owned and operated by AGS
Airports which also owns and operates Glasgow and Southampton Airports. It was
previously owned and operated by Heathrow Airport Holdings.
Aberdeen Airport is a base for BMI Regional, Eastern Airways and Flybe. The
airport also serves as the main heliport for the Scottish offshore oil industry.
With the utilisation of newer aircraft, helicopters can reach northern most
platforms on both the East and west of Shetland areas. However, helicopters
frequently use Wick, Kirkwall, Scatsta and Sumburgh for refuelling stops.
The airport has one main passenger terminal, serving scheduled and charter
holiday flights. In addition, there are three terminals dedicated to North Sea
helicopter operations, used by Bristow Helicopters, CHC-Scotia, and Bond
Offshore Helicopters. There is also a small terminal adjacent to the main
passenger terminal, Broomfield House, used primarily for oil company charter
flights to Scatsta in Shetland, operated by Eastern Airways.
History The airport opened in 1934, established
by Eric Gandar Dower, intended to link the northern islands of Scotland with
London. During Second World War the airfield
became a Royal Air Force station – RAF Dyce. It was the site of the Dyce Sector
Operations Room within No. 13 Group RAF. Although fighters were there throughout
the Battle of Britain to provide protection from German bombing raids
from Occupied Norway, it was mainly used as a photographic reconnaissance
station. Anti-shipping operations by Coastal Command were carried out from
RAF Dyce as well as convoy escort. The airfield was bombed by the Luftwaffe on
26 July 1940 and 27 August 1940, no damage was reported. A decoy site was
located at Harestone Moss near Whitecairns. The aim of this site was to
create the impression of an active airfield during the night. The decoy
worked on around four occasions, where several raids resulted in bombs being
dropped on the decoy site. The decoy site had a small underground bunker that
housed a generator. This was used to power a decoy 'flarepath' in addition to
a rotating lamp to give the impression of a taxiing aircraft. Near the airport
off the A96, to deter German gliders landing to attack RAF Dyce during WW2,
the flat areas across from Concraig Farm had wooden poles erected as anti-glider
landing poles. A Spitfire IIa crashed at the east side of the airfield on 19
November 1941 during attack practice with a target glider being towed. F/O
Zaoral is buried in the old Dyce graveyard, where some German aircrew are
also buried that crashed in Aberdeen in 1940.
A significant wartime event occurred in May 1943 when a German, Junkers Ju 88
fighter-bomber landed here; it was flown to Scotland by its crew, who wanted to
defect to the Allied side. The surrender of this aircraft was of great
intelligence value at the time, as it was fitted with the latest FuG 202
Liechtenstein BC A.I radar. The aircraft survives and is displayed in the RAF
Museum in London. On 17 August 1943, a Mosquito crashed
following a stall in the circuit, crashing onto 5 John Street in Dyce
village; another Mosquito on 10 April 1944 crashed on approach to the
airfield. On 26 December 1944, A Messerschmitt BF109G signalling
intentions to surrender crash landed at the airfield. On 16 May 1945, two pilots
were killed when a Wellington bomber crashed on landing wrecking a goods
train in Dyce Station. During air raids in the Second World War, aircraft were
moved to East Fingask beside Oldmeldrum. One RAF building still remains at East
Fingask, where aircrews waiting for the "All Clear" before returning to Dyce
airfield. Virtually nothing remains from the war era at the airport due to
expansion and development of the industrial estates around it.
The original airport terminal was located at the East Side where the
Airport Social club and Bond Offshore helicopters are located, a new terminal
was built along with a new control tower to handle the increase in air traffic.
The airport was nationalised in 1947 and was transferred to the control of the
British Airports Authority in 1975. From 1967 and 1970 there were regular flights
to Moscow and Toronto; these were later stopped due to cost related problems.
With the discovery of North Sea oil, helicopter operations began in 1967,
linking the growing number of oil rigs to the mainland. As Aberdeen became the
largest oil-related centre in Europe, the airport became the world's largest
commercial heliport. Today, Aberdeen Airport handles more than 37,000 rotary
wing movements carrying around 468,000 passengers annually. Helicopters account
for almost half of all aircraft movements at the airport.
Until March 2005, aircraft were not allowed to take-off or land between
22:30 and 06:00 local time due to noise constraints. The city council overturned
this ban, however, despite some Dyce residents' objections, and the airport
is now open 24 hours a day to fixed-wing aircraft with a quota count of QC4 or
below, and the overnight restrictions still apply to helicopters.
General aviation flight training for private pilots licenses takes place from
the East Side of the airport by Cabro Aviation and located in Signature Flight
Support. Signature Flight Support also manages the VIP flights and corporate
jets that park on the Eastside Apron. The air ambulance is positioned on the
eastside apron in a dedicated hangar, Gama Aviation operates King-Air aircraft
from Aberdeen. Aberdeen, being a major city in the Oil
industry has a number of oil company charter flights, these have included
flights to South America and also Korea. Flights from the USA are regular
visitors and a military flight from Afghanistan has also landed.
On 6 October 2011, a 124-metre extension to the main runway at the airport was
opened, almost eight months ahead of schedule. On 8 January 2013, the airport
was renamed Aberdeen International. In October 2014, Heathrow Airport
Holdings reached an agreement to sell the airport, together with Southampton
and Glasgow, to a consortium of Ferrovial and Macquarie Group for £1
billion. The airport handles around 500,000 passengers per year by
helicopter for the North Sea oil fields. making it the world's busiest heliport.
= Plans = BAA expects to spend £60million on
extending the runway farther still to allow bigger, more modern aircraft to
fly from Aberdeen to destinations across the Mediterranean, North Africa and
North America, as well as building a bigger, better-equipped terminal and new
parking stands for aircraft. During the construction phase of the runway
extension and taxiway, the airport's military past has been revealed. To date
two pieces of WW2 ordnance have been unearthed. The reason for this is the
taxiway extension route runs straight through the old bomb dump.
BAA predicts passenger numbers at Aberdeen will rise to 5.9 million by
2030, and says the expansion will create more than 1,200 jobs at the airport and
many more across Scotland. Refurbishment work will see the
installation of a segregated walkway for passengers, as well significant
enhancements to the international arrivals hall and improvements to jet
parking stands. The first phase of the work will be
completed early next year, with all upgrades conforming to UK Visas and
Immigration requirements. Phases two and three will then involve additions to the
international arrivals hall, centring on improving its passport control and
baggage reclaim facilities as well as increasing floor space. A separate £2
million project to transform the terminal forecourt at Aberdeen Airport
got underway in July 2008 and was completed that autumn.
The former Airport social club building has been renovated by Bond Offshore
helicopters and this will be for future passenger use.
Airlines and destinations = Passenger =
= Cargo = Traffic statistics
= Busiest routes = Facilities
There is a Thistle Hotel, Premier Inn, Courtyard by Marriott and Speedbird Inn
on the airport site. On January 10, 2013 it was also announced that Accor Group
will be bringing two new hotels to the airport, a 194-bedroom Novotel hotel and
the other a 112-bedroom Ibis hotel. At least one more hotel is planned for the
adjacent Aberdeen International Business Park starting in 2016.
BMI Regional has its head office in Aberdeen Airport East.
For Flight Training, Eurocopter and Bristow Helicopters both have helicopter
flight Simulators in buildings at the airport. Cabro Aviation also operate GA
flight training at the Eastside of Aberdeen Airport.
Incidents and accidents On 3 March 2009, seven protesters from
Plane Stupid occupied a taxiway at Aberdeen Airport, barricading themselves
within a makeshift wire enclosure while two further protesters occupied the roof
of the main terminal building. Their actions were in protest at the proposed
extension to the Airport runway, and Donald Trump's plan to create a Golf
Resort in the area. After a number of hours, the group eventually ended their
protest, and were arrested by Police. On 22 June 2006, a City Star Airlines
Dornier 328 operating a passenger flight from Stavanger, Norway, overshot the end
of the airport's runway by several hundred yards as it came in to land.
None of the 16 passengers and 3 crew members on board were injured.
On 24 December 2002 a Swearingen Metroliner III of Danish operator North
Flying crashed after take off from Aberdeen on a positioning flight to
Aalborg in Denmark. Immediately after take-off the aircraft was suspected to
have suffered a major power loss in its right engine and crashed into a field
just to the south of the airport. It slid along the field and through a fence
onto Dyce Drive, a main road into the airport, where it hit a moving car and
then came to rest. The two crew and driver of the car survived the accident,
with only one crewmember sustaining minor injuries.
On 4 July 1983, Bristow Helicopters AS332L Super Puma crashed on landing at
Aberdeen. During the approach to Aberdeen from the North Hutton platform,
a loud bang was heard, followed by severe vibration. A PAN call was made to
ATC by the crew. Shortly before landing control was lost and the helicopter
struck the runway heavily on its side. 10 of 16 passengers received serious
injuries. A tail boom panel had become detached in flight and damaged all five
tail rotor blades. The resulting imbalance to the tail rotor assembly led
to the separation of this unit and subsequent loss.
On 22nd May 1978, a British European Airways Trident Aircraft overshot the
runway ending up 200ft into the grass at the Northern end of runway 34 due to wet
weather. All 120 passengers survived with no injuries.
Transport = Rail =
The airport is linked to nearby Dyce railway station by the 80 Dyce Airlink
shuttle bus which runs between the station, airport, heliport and Kirkhill
industrial estate every 20 minutes between 06:45 and 19:00. Journey time
between the airport and station is 15 minutes.
Following an increase in the frequency of train services to Dyce station,
Abellio Scotrail now provides an almost half-hourly service to and from Aberdeen
during the day. Additionally many more trains from the
south have now been extended to stop at Dyce, giving the station direct links to
Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and intermediate stations, as well as
stations northwards on the line to Inverness.
= Bus = Aberdeen Airport is served by local and
express bus services operated by First Aberdeen and Stagecoach East Scotland.
There is a dedicated No.727 bus service up to every 10 minutes to the main bus
and rail station in central Aberdeen. Chartered buses can also be booked with
local operators. = Road =
The airport lies on the main A96 Aberdeen to Inverness road, being only a
few kilometres from the city centre itself.
References External links
Media related to Aberdeen Airport at Wikimedia Commons
Official website Photo of eastside terminal 1970s
Photo of old control tower and RAF buildings 1970s
Photo of airport 1980s with new terminal and control tower
RAF Dyce decoy airfield at Harestone Moss with Bunker, bomb craters and
flarepath direction shown Current weather for EGPD at NOAA/NWS
Accident history for ABZ at Aviation Safety Network