Belfast City Airport chief in pledge on night flying

Belfast City Airport chief in pledge on night flying
Belfast Telegraph, UK

22 March 2004 


THE chief executive of Belfast City Airport pledged
today that opening hours at the airport would be
extended only if there was proven demand for such a
move.

Brian Ambrose, who succeeded John Doran in February,
said he was launching an intensive series of meetings
with business organisations, airlines, and local
community groups.

"We want this process to be entirely transparent," he
said. "When we have assessed the situation we will
make a submission to the Planning Service.

"We hope by May to be in a position to outline our
proposals and we will make the details available for
public scrutiny.

"But we will only seek an extension of opening hours
if there is proven demand, and if there is we will be
making specific requests for maybe two or three
additional flights.

"This is not a question, as has been suggested, of the
thin end of the wedge. We could, if we wished, apply
to be a 24-hour airport but that is not what we are
about.

"We do not handle cargo, charter or long-haul flights.
We have a niche role to play and, as the White Paper
on Aviation said, the majority of growth in the years
to come will be at Aldergrove.

"At City Airport we are projecting a steady 3% per
annum growth in passenger numbers in the next few
years, and much of that can be achieved by increasing
operations during the day."

At present the curfew at City Airport falls at 9.30pm,
and Mr Ambrose has already floated the idea of it
being pushed back by an hour or an hour and a half.

"If there is no demand, we will continue to work
within the existing hours," he said. "But if there is
a demand, we will be explicit about what we want.

"Within the industry night flying is generally
accepted as meaning that operations continue until
11pm.

"And there is nothing unusual about housing being
close to airports. But we are trying to strike a
balance between residents' concerns and the needs of
the travelling public."

The current planning consent places three restrictions
on BCA.

These are:

operating hours restricted to between 6.30am and
9.30pm, except for delayed arrivals;

cap on seats offered for sale per annum of 1.5 million
inbound, and 1.5 million outbound (1.3 million each
way last year); 

limit of aircraft movements of 45,000 a year (33,000
last year).

Last year BCA was used by 1.95 million passengers, and
Mr Ambrose said they expected to hit the 1.5 million
seats for sale ceiling by 2006.

The review of planning consent was triggered by the
Government's White Paper on Aviation, which said the
issue should be revisited.


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