Newcastle Airport

Newcastle International Airport
IATA: NCL – ICAO: EGNT
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Newcastle Airport Local Authority Holding Company Ltd (51%), AMP Capital (49%).
Operator	Newcastle International Airport Ltd
Serves	Tyne and Wear County Durham Cumbria North Yorkshire Northumberland
Location	Woolsington, Newcastle upon Tyne
Elevation AMSL	266 ft / 81 m
Coordinates	55°02′17″N 001°41′23″W / 55.03806°N 1.68972°W / 55.03806; -1.68972Coordinates: 55°02′17″N 001°41′23″W / 55.03806°N 1.68972°W / 55.03806; -1.68972
Website	newcastleairport.com
Map
EGNT Location in Tyne and Wear
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 07/25 2,329 7,641 Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 4,562,853 Passenger change 14-15 1.0% Aircraft Movements 55, Movements change 14-15 5.4%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Newcastle International Airport (IATA: NCL, ICAO: EGNT) is an international airport located near the main area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi)^[1] north-west of the city centre. In 2015 it was the 10th busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the second busiest in Northern England after Manchester Airport, handling over 4.5 million passengers.^[2] Newcastle Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P725) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

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. On 27 October 2012 Copenhagen Airport sold the stake in the airport to AMP Capital, which is an Australian-based Investment Management Company.

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 airport being Leeds Bradford Airport to the south and the larger Edinburgh and Glasgow International airports to the north. In terms of passenger numbers, Newcastle is the second largest airport in the North of England, after Manchester Airport.

History

Newcastle Airport in 1972

Early years

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, at the time it cost £35,000 to build.^[3]

Although during World War II the main airport in the region was located at Cramlington in Northumberland, following the war a decision was taken to concentrate development on the present airport site. Accordingly, in the early 1950s, ex-RAF fighter pilot Jim Denyer was appointed as Airport Manager and within a few years over 5,000 people were using the Airport each year to travel to destinations such as Jersey and the Isle of Wight.

The 1960s saw tremendous growth in passenger numbers at the airport. This was mainly due to British people taking foreign holidays to places such as Spain instead of holidaying within the UK. A new runway was built, along with an apron and a new air traffic control tower. These new additions were opened by the then-Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.

In the 1970s, with passenger figures approaching one million per year, the Airport status was changed to Category B, making it a regional international airport, in the same decade it was re-branded as Newcastle Airport. The 80's 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 and Wear Metro system. A new £27 million extension was opened in 2000 by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and the first low-cost airline arrived at the airport, with Go inaugurating a service to London Stansted following the collapse of locally based Gill Airways.

Development since the 2000s

Main hall

In 2001 the SAS Group announced that an agreement had been concluded to increase its holding in Spanair from 49% to 74% of the shares.^[4]

In August 2004 an extended and refurbished Departure Terminal was opened. The refurbishment comprised a 3,000 square metre extension which included new shops, cafes and 1,200 new waiting seats.^[5]

In 2006 a record 5.4 million passengers used the Airport, according to Civil Aviation Authority figures.^[6]

Rapid expansion in passenger traffic has led to increasing commercial utilization of the south-side of the airport, which was previously used for general aviation, and 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.^[7]

In August 2016, United Airlines announced to terminate their seasonal route from Newark to Newcastle by 6 September 2016 stating economic reasons.^[8] Therefore, Newcastle Airport lost one of its two only long-haul services.

Cargo and Freight facilities

Newcastle Airport Freight Village is located south to the Airport and bases Emirates SkyCargo, FedEx, Servisair Cargo and North East Air Cargo company offices to deal with freight such as mail and cargo to export and import goods to and from Newcastle and across the world. It also houses Freight Forwarding Agents such as; Camair, DHL, 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 UAE.

On the southern cargo apron is where all the cargo planes are based and loaded including the Jet2 737 (quick change) aircraft which goes over every night, has the seats shipped out on pallet's and filled full of post before it is flown down to East Midlands (on behalf of Royal Mail) and back again with the seats refilled, ready for the mornings flight. It also houses West Atlantic and more.

Other airport facilities

When Gill Airways existed, its head office was in the New Aviation House, on the airport property.^[9]

The Airport is also home to the Newcastle Airport Fire Academy.^[10][11]

The Newcastle Aviation Academy is also located within this area.

It was reported in the Evening Chronicle that the airport was looking for a sponsor to build a new observation deck at the airport's old control tower. No information has been given in terms of a start date, but as highlighted above, they are in the process of finding a sponsor for the work.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

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.^[19]
• 11 February 2004 - A Robinson R22 Beta lost height while in a hover taxi and impacted the ground causing major damage to the aircraft and minor injuries to the pilot and passenger.^[20]
• 5 August 2008 - A Royal Air Force Tornado GR4A overran the runway making an emergency landing after suffering a bird strike. The crew were uninjured although the aircraft suffered damage.^[21]
• 25 May 2009 - A Rockwell Commander 112 registered G-FLPI veered off the runway while landing. The nosewheel collapsed, the propeller and fuselage suffered damage, but the pilot was uninjured.^[22]
• 25 November 2010 - A Boeing 737-800 registered G-FDZR stopped on the paved surface but with the nosewheel 10 ft beyond the marked runway end. The runway was reported to have a covering of 2 mm of wet snow.
• 5 December 2015 - A Embraer ERJ 145 registered G-CGWV left wing touched the runway surface during a night landing in gusty wind conditions. Damage to the left wingtip and aileron was found after the flight. The crew were uninjured although the aircraft suffered damage.

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 4.5 million passengers passing through the airport in 2015 (below the 2004 total), although cargo volumes have broadly increased to record levels since 2005.^[2]

Traffic figures

Thomson Airways Boeing 737 at Newcastle Airport in 2014

British Airways Airbus A321 bound for London Heathrow

Newcastle Airport's control tower

RAF Tornado at Newcastle Airport

Newcastle Airport Passenger Totals 1997-2015 (millions)

Updated: 10 April 2016.[2]

Busiest routes

Busiest domestic routes to and from Newcastle Airport (2014)^[2]

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% Change 2013 / 14
1	London Heathrow	478,806	0
2	Belfast International	196,738	2
3	Bristol	174,461	0
4	London Gatwick	105,336	29
5	Southampton	99,501	9
6	Aberdeen	30,168	2
7	Belfast City	28,882	31
8	Jersey	14,720	18
9	Exeter	12,844	57
10	Cardiff	11,778	6
11	Birmingham	8,305	4
12	Isle of Man	4,573	5
13	Newquay	2,406	0

Busiest international routes to and from Newcastle Airport (2015)^[2]

Rank	Airport	Passengers handled	% Change 2014 / 15
1	Amsterdam	380,012	4
2	Alicante	234,633	1
3	Dubai	233,489	8
4	Palma de Mallorca	227,063	8
5	Dublin	198,492	10
6	Tenerife South	174,716	5
7	Málaga	169,855	5
8	Paris Charles de Gaulle	153,870	2
9	Dalaman	126,517	6
10	Faro	110,283	9
11	Lanzarote	95,399	6
12	Ibiza	75,704	1
13	Barcelona	66,279	1
14	Sharm el-Sheikh	49,521	14
15	Corfu	47,123	15
16	Paphos	46,336	3
17	Mahon	39,537	3
18	Las Palmas	37,801	22
19	Murcia	28,799	30
20	Enfidha	21,192	53

Ground transport

Airport Metro Station

Metro

Airport station on the Tyne and 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 City Centre Metro 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