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George Best Belfast City Airport (IATA: BHD, ICAO: EGAC) is a single-runway airport in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated in County Down, it is adjacent to the Port of Belfast[1] and is 3 miles (4.8 km) from Belfast City Centre. It shares the site with the Spirit AeroSystems (formerly Short Brothers/Bombardier) aircraft manufacturing facility. The airport began commercial operations in 1983, and was known as "Belfast City Airport" until it was renamed in 2006 in memory of George Best, the professional footballer from Belfast.[3] The airport has a CAA public use aerodrome licence (number P862) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

George Best Belfast City Airport
IATA: BHD ICAO: EGAC
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	3i Group plc (3i)
Operator	Belfast City Airport Ltd.
Serves	Belfast
Location	County Down
Opened	16 March 1983 (39 years ago) (1983-03-16)
Focus city for	Aer Lingus British Airways Flybe
Elevation AMSL	15 ft / 5 m
Coordinates	54°37′05″N 05°52′21″W
Website	www.belfastcityairport.com
Map
EGAC Location in Greater Belfast Show map of Greater Belfast EGAC Location in Northern Ireland Show map of island of Ireland EGAC Location on the island of Ireland Show map of the United Kingdom EGAC Location in the United Kingdom Show map of Northern Ireland
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 04/22 1,829 6,001 Asphalt
Statistics (2021)
Passengers 812,424 Passenger change 20-21 49.7% Aircraft movements 12,819 Movements change 20-21 23.7%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

As of October 2022, 7 airlines operate 22 routes across the UK and Europe from Belfast City Airport.[4] In 2021, the airport handled over 800,000 passengers, having peaked at 2.7 million in 2010.[2] The airport serves as a regional base for Aer Lingus, British Airways and Flybe, who are the largest operators there. Ground handling is provided by Swissport[5] and Menzies Aviation,[6] the latter also offering cargo handling services.

History

Early years

Sydenham Airport was established by Shorts beside its Belfast factory at Sydenham in 1937. It was opened on 16 March 1938 by Anne Chamberlain, the wife of then British Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain. The inaugural flight was to Glasgow, Scotland.[7] This became Belfast's main civilian airport from 1938 to 1939. The airfield was requisitioned by the RAF as RAF Belfast in 1941, then transferred to the Royal Navy, becoming HMS Gadwall (also known as RNAS Belfast or RNAS Sydenham) in 1943.[8] RAF Nutts Corner then became Belfast's main airport (while Aldergrove would later become the primary airport in Northern Ireland).

In 1952, the runway was extended to its present 6,000 feet (1,800 m).[7] The airfield at Sydenham continued to be used for military purposes until the 1970s (reverting to RAF Belfast in 1973 and closing in 1978),[9] including a period of use by the Fleet Air Arm as a naval aircraft storage unit. After this, it was used solely by Shorts.

In 1983, following interest from airlines and customers, the airfield was opened for commercial flights as Belfast Harbour Airport (subsequently Belfast City Airport and then with its current name). Its IATA airport code BHD refers to Belfast Harbour and to its location in County Down.[10][11] Jersey European began operations at the airport in 1988. At the time of its demise in 2020, the airline - by then called Flybe - operated a large base from the airport.[12]

Development from 2000 to 2019

A new terminal was officially opened on 3 June 2001.[7] Following major capital investment Bombardier sold the airport in 2003 for £35 million to the Spanish company Ferrovial,[13] the owner of BAA Airports. Ferrovial re-sold the airport in September 2008 for £132.5 million to ABN Amro Global Infrastructure Fund.[14]

In March 2006, it was announced that the airport would be renamed in memory of Northern Irish footballer George Best. The new name, George Best Belfast City Airport, and signage were revealed at the renaming ceremony attended by Best's family and friends on 22 May 2006, which would have been Best's 60th birthday.[3] The renaming of the airport caused controversy, with many articles in local and national print media highlighting the mixed feelings of Belfast residents.[15] Also in March 2006 Flybe announced that it would be naming its Belfast City – Manchester service after the footballer, dedicating a plane to him.

In October 2007 Ryanair established its 23rd base at the airport, operating five routes and carrying 800,000 annual passengers. The airline closed its Belfast City base in 2010 due to delays in the planned runway extension. The airline stated that would fly to European destinations from the airport if the runway was extended.[16]

In January 2010 easyJet commenced flights to London Luton, though the airline moved the route back to Belfast International in 2011.

Manx2 moved its Isle of Man service to the airport in 2010, however the airline has since ceased operations.

In January 2011 Bmibaby moved its Belfast base to the airport, in order to keep its operation under one roof with sister airline BMI.[17] The airline ceased operations from Belfast City Airport in June 2012.

In October 2012 Aer Lingus moved its services from Belfast International to the airport. The airline launched flights to five destinations, though it has since reduced their operations to just one route.[18] Spanish carrier Vueling launched summer-seasonal flights to Barcelona in May 2015, though the route was cancelled in late 2015.[19] Dutch carrier KLM launched daily flights to Amsterdam in 2015, with flights operated by KLM Cityhopper.[20] Brussels Airlines launched flights to Brussels in 2016, though the airline axed the route in 2017.[21] In early 2017, Eastern Airways commenced flights to the Isle of Man following the demise of Citywing, though the airline axed the route in 2018. Icelandic carrier Air Iceland Connect commenced flights to Keflavik in 2017 on behalf of Icelandair, though the route was cancelled in 2018.[22] Scottish airline Loganair commenced operations to Carlisle in 2019, followed by Dundee in 2020.[23]

2020 to present

Flybe, which operated 80% of flights at the airport, and carried over 1.6 million passengers across 14 routes, ceased operations in March 2020.[24] Subsequently, Loganair commenced flights to Aberdeen, Glasgow, and Inverness,[25] while Eastern Airways commenced flights to Cardiff and Southampton. In addition, British Airways subsidiary BA Cityflyer commenced flights to London City during 2020.[26]

In August 2020, Aer Lingus subsidiary Aer Lingus Regional established a new base at the airport, operating five aircraft to six UK destinations. In June 2021, Aer Lingus Regional operator Stobart Air ceased operations,[27] leading to the cancellation of all Aer Lingus Regional flights. Aer Lingus and British Airways commenced flights to the majority of Aer Lingus Regional's destinations from Belfast City Airport.[28]

Ryanair resumed flying from the airport after a hiatus of around 11 years, on 1 June 2021,[29] but announced in late August 2021 that it would withdraw from Northern Ireland altogether in September 2021, in protest at the UK's Air Passenger Duty, and the lack of post-Covid incentives for airlines. [30]

In March 2022, Emerald Airlines,[31] the new operator of Aer Lingus Regional flights, announced that they would be opening a base at the airport. Initially with a base of three ATR-72-600 aircraft, Emerald plan on serving six UK destinations from March 24, 2022 under the Aer Lingus brand,[32] with Aer Lingus itself operating the London Heathrow route.

On the 16 March 2022, the new Flybe announced that the airport would become their second operating base following their spring relaunch, with flights going on sale the following week.[33]

Expansion plans and objections

As the airport is adjacent to residential areas, the issue of noise pollution is a major source of public debate. The airport has developed a noise management strategy following the making of a planning agreement, under which the airport operates, and has established operational noise abatement procedures.

The airport applied for a complete removal of the limit on the seats it could sell in 2013[34] – a key element of the 1997 planning agreement, which was designed to guard against over-expansion. As a result, numerous residents' groups formed a coalition – The Coalition Against Belfast City Airport Expansion[35] – to protest against the airport's proposed expansion plans, and to represent the views of residents at the Examination in Public held during 2006.[34]

Restrictions applied to the airport include:

• The requirement for flights to be scheduled between 6:30 am and 9:30 pm. The exception to this is for delayed flights where extensions may be granted.
• That there would be a limit of 45,000 commercial (and unlimited general aviation) aircraft movements in any year, restricted further in 2008 to 48,000 combined commercial and general aviation aircraft movements.[36]
• That airlines must not offer more than 4 million seats for sale on flights from the airport per year.[36]
• The majority of flights must approach and depart the airport over Belfast Lough (currently 52% as of April 2017),[37] rather than over the city of Belfast.^{[citation needed]}
• Any flight departing over the lough must turn left to head north (further from land) at 500 feet. Only after reaching 2,000 feet (for turboprops) or 3,000 feet (for jet aircraft) may they then turn south to move over land again.
• Any flight departing over the city must head in a straight line until 2,000 feet (for turboprop aircraft) or 3,000 feet (for jet aircraft) before they are allowed to turn.[38]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter flights to and from Belfast City Airport:[4]

Airlines	Destinations
Aer Lingus[39]	Birmingham, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Leeds/Bradford, Manchester, Southampton Seasonal: Jersey (begins 6 May 2023),[40] Newquay (begins 3 April 2023)[40]
British Airways[41]	London–City, London–Heathrow Seasonal charter: Barcelona,[42] Bologna (begins 14 May 2023),[43] Palma de Mallorca (begins 10 June 2023)[44]
easyJet[45]	Bristol, Glasgow, Liverpool, London–Gatwick
Flybe[46]	Amsterdam, Birmingham, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Glasgow (resumes 16 March 2023), Leeds/Bradford, London–Heathrow, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne,[47] Southampton (resumes 23 February 2023)
KLM[48]	Amsterdam
Loganair[49]	Aberdeen, Dundee, Inverness, Teesside (ends 3 January 2023)[50]
Lufthansa	Frankfurt (begins 23 April 2023)[51]

Statistics

Traffic figures

	Number of passengers[52]	Number of movements[53]	Freight (tonnes)[2]
1997	1,285,712	37,592	1,247
1998	1,316,792	37,917	1,149
1999	1,284,148	35,781	773
2000	1,288,428	36,773	820
2001	1,192,897	35,158	509
2002	1,896,081	40,027	1,058
2003	1,975,202	34,523	1,177
2004	2,091,221	36,290	955
2005	2,237,219	40,443	516
2006	2,105,769	39,411	827
2007	2,186,993	43,022	1,057
2008	2,570,742	42,990	168
2009	2,621,763	39,330	138
2010	2,740,341	40,324	155
2011	2,397,312	41,844	457
2012	2,246,202	37,189	581
2013	2,541,759	38,051	527
2014	2,555,145	37,112	491
2015	2,692,713	41,782	551
2016	2,665,139	42,475	476
2017	2,559,846	36,332	317
2018	2,510,294	35,959	227
2019	2,445,529	34,625	196
2020	542,547	10,359	49
2021	812,424	12,819

Busiest routes

10 busiest routes to and from Belfast City (2021)[54]

Rank	Airport	Total passengers	Change 2020 / 21	Airline(s)
1	London–Heathrow	337,282	30%	Aer Lingus, British Airways, Flybe
2	London-Gatwick	94,315	New Route	easyJet
3	London–City	74,890	119%	British Airways
4	Manchester	52,182	0%	Aer Lingus, Flybe
5	Birmingham	41,246	5%	Aer Lingus, Flybe
6	Edinburgh	35,806	50%	Aer Lingus, Flybe
7	Leeds Bradford	31,149	19%	Aer Lingus, Flybe
8	Southampton	17,826	11%	Aer Lingus, Eastern Airways, Flybe
9	Exeter	16,276	169%	Aer Lingus
10	Glasgow	16,113	24%	Aer Lingus, Flybe, easyJet

Ground transport

Rail

Sydenham railway station is adjacent to the southern perimeter of the airport, across the A2 from the old passenger terminal. It is served by frequent Northern Ireland Railways trains between Bangor and Portadown. Trains towards Portadown call at the Belfast Central and Great Victoria Street railway stations. With the construction of the new passenger terminal further northeast, passengers arriving or departing by train can request an airport courtesy bus to take them to or from the terminal.

Car

The airport is located on the A2, Sydenham by-pass road between Belfast and Holywood.

Bus

Translink Metro route 600 is the Belfast City Airlink service, from the terminal to the Belfast Europa Buscentre adjacent to the Europa Hotel and Belfast Great Victoria Street railway station. Buses run every thirty minutes throughout the day. In addition Metro bus 3A operates every ten minutes from Sydenham to Belfast City Hall. The Airporter service operates 12 coach services to the airport on weekdays as well as five coaches on Saturdays and eight coaches on Sundays to Derry.[55]

References

External links

Media related to Belfast City Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website

На других языках

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[de] George Best Belfast City Airport

Der George Best Belfast City Airport ist, nach dem Belfast International Airport, der kleinere und stadtnähere der beiden zivilen Flughäfen der nordirischen Hauptstadt Belfast. Der Flughafen liegt etwa fünf Kilometer östlich der Innenstadt auf dem großen Hafengelände. Die Firma Bombardier produziert dort.

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- [en] George Best Belfast City Airport

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[es] Aeropuerto de la Ciudad de Belfast George Best

Aeropuerto de la Ciudad de Belfast George Best (IATA: BHD, OACI: EGAC) es un aeropuerto en Belfast, Condado de Down, Irlanda del Norte (Reino Unido). El aeropuerto tiene una única pista en servicio. Se encuentra situado junto al Puerto de Belfast,[1] a unos 3 millas náuticas (6 km) del centro de la ciudad. Comparte su espacio con la instalación de fabricación de aviones Short Brothers/Bombardier. El aeropuerto comenzó sus operaciones comerciales en 1983.

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[fr] Aéroport de Belfast-George Best

Le George Best Belfast City Airport (code IATA : BHD • code OACI : EGAC) est un aéroport situé à 3,2 km de Belfast en Irlande du Nord, entre Belfast et Holywood.

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[it] Aeroporto di Belfast-Città

L'aeroporto di Belfast-Città[1] (IATA: BHD, ICAO: EGAC) (in inglese: Belfast City Airport), noto anche con il nome commerciale di George Best Belfast City Airport, è un aeroporto nordirlandese ubicato nell'area urbana della città di Belfast, capitale dell'Irlanda del Nord. Fu intitolato, nella sua dicitura commerciale, al calciatore nordirlandese George Best (1946-2005) il 22 maggio 2006, giorno in cui l'ex Pallone d'oro avrebbe compiuto 60 anni.[2] Lo scalo è, insieme all'aeroporto di Belfast-Aldergrove, uno dei due aeroporti della città.

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[ru] Аэропорт Белфаст-Сити имени Джорджа Беста

Аэропорт Белфаст-Сити имени Джорджа Беста (англ. George Best Belfast City Airport, ирл. Aerfort Chathair Bhéal Feirste George Best) (ИАТА: BHD, ИКАО: EGAC) — аэропорт в Белфасте, Северная Ирландия. В аэропорту функционирует одна взлётно-посадочная полоса. Расположен рядом с Белфастским портом[2], в 3.2 км от городского центра Белфаста. В аэропорту находятся производственные мощности Short Brothers/Bombardier. Коммерческая эксплуатация аэропорта началась в 1983.

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