"Dublin airport able to take 'super jumbo'"

Sunday, October 17, 2004

Dublin airport able to take 'super jumbo' 
By Niamh Connolly
Ireland - The Dublin Sunday Business Post


The proposed €130 million runway at Dublin Airport will be able to handle 
so-called 'super jumbo' aircraft, after the Dublin Airport Authority changed 
its plans to allow for a wider runway. 

The new plan allows for a 60-metre-wide runway, rather than the 45 metre width 
outlined by the authority in a draft plan last month. Robert Hilliard, director 
of the authority, said the change was made after a review in recent weeks which 
included extensive consultation with airlines.

The plan for a 45-metrewide runway had drawn criticism from the Transport 
Umbrella Group because it would not be able to handle so-called super jumbo 
aircraft, such as theAirbusA380.

"It's a more sensible approach to have the space for these planes," Hilliard 
said this weekend.

Last month, he told The Sunday Business Post that a 60 metre wide runway was 
unnecessary and would require "enormous extra investment''.

However, a spokesman for the authority said this weekend that the change would 
cost less than €10 million. The authority's U-turn means both of Dublin 
Airport's runways will be able to handle next-generation, long-haul aircraft 
which will seat more than 550 passengers.

Tadhg Kearney, the chairman of the Air Transport Users Council, said the 
decision to apply for a 60 metre wide runway was wise.

He said it meant "maximising the options for Dublin Airport over the next 20 
years, both in terms of the design of the aircraft and changes in the 
regulatory environment''.

However, north Dublin residents who oppose the runway plan are unlikely to 
welcome a facility for larger aircraft.

The new runway will be 3.1 kilometres long, allowing Dublin to compete with 
Shannon on transatlantic routes.

The government's existing agreement to protect Shannon Airport's stopover 
status has restricted the length of runway at Dublin Airport to 2.637 
kilometres. This has limited the capacity of certain aircraft to fly 
transatlantic routes from Dublin fully laden with cargo.

However, a liberalised airline market between the US and the EU is likely to be 
in operation when the new runway is completed in 2014.

Dublin Airport's capacity to handle aircraft will be cut while the new runway 
is being built across the top of the existing second runway.

The authority spokesman said work would be done on a phased basis, so capacity 
would only be affected during off-peak periods such as the winter months.


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