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City of Derry Airport (IATA: LDY, ICAO: EGAE) is an airport near Londonderry, Northern Ireland. It is located on the south bank of Lough Foyle and is a short distance from the village of Eglinton, 13 kilometres (8 miles) east north-east of the city centre. Passenger numbers in 2007 were almost 430,000, a 30% increase on 2006, and are projected to rise to over 500,000 in 2008.

Eglinton Aerodrome, as it is know locally, has a CAA Ordinary Licence (Number P620) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction as authorised by the licensee (Derry City Council).

History

The airport has its origins in World War II. In 1941 RAF Eglinton air base was established as home to No. 133 Squadron RAF which flew Hurricane fighters in defence of the city. In 1942 the base was occupied by No. 41 Squadron RAF. In 1943 the airfield became a Fleet Air Arm base called HMS Gannet and was home to No. 1847 Fleet Air Arm Squadron which provided convoy air cover as part of the Second Battle of the Atlantic.

After the war the base remained a military establishment until the 1950s when the Ministry of Defence returned much of the land to the original landowners. The original name of the airport was Londonderry Eglinton Airport and was usually just referred to as Eglinton. Some limited commercial activities were undertaken at the airfield during the 1960s when Emerald Airways operated a Glasgow service. During most of the 1970s the only flying at Eglinton was carried out by Eglinton Flying Club which is still based at the airport. In 1978 Londonderry City Council (now called Derry City Council) decided to purchase the airfield with a view to improving the transport infrastructure for the North-West of Ireland. The airport has slowly developed since then with private short-haul charters to various destinations within the British Isles, a service which still continues including the recent addition of helicopter charter services.Loganair introduced the first scheduled flight between Londonderry and Glasgow in 1979, a route which was recently dropped due to rising fuel costs. This route was the only route for ten years until Loganair introduced an additional daily Manchester service in 1989.

A major redevelopment programme was undertaken by the Council from 1989 to 1993 with grant aid from the European Regional Development Fund. £10.5 million was spent upgrading all of the facilities at the airport including runways, taxiways, access roads, navigation equipment and runway lighting, as well as a new purpose-built terminal and fire station. The new terminal was officially opened in March 1994. The name of the airport was officially changed from Londonderry Eglinton to the City of Derry Airport by Derry City Council following Nationalist support within the newly renamed Council. At that time there were still only two scheduled routes carrying about 40,000 passenger each year. 1995 saw the arrival of Jersey European Airways who attempted to operate a short-lived shuttle link between Londonderry and Belfast City Airport.

During 1998 and 1999 safety improvements were undertaken at the airport. As the airport serves much of the Republic of Ireland as well as Northern Ireland, funding came from the Irish government, as well as the British government and Derry City Council. These improvements meant that larger aircraft could use the airport and Falcon Holidays started holiday charter flights in May 1999 and Ryanair followed with scheduled flights in July 1999. This Ryanair service to London Stansted grew substantially and the Loganair routes continued to operate until October 2008 as a British Airways franchise, including a sector to Dublin, initiated as a public service obligation route, subsidised by the Irish Government. Soaring fuel costs have now seen all British Airways operations to Northern Ireland suspended indefinitely.

A previously successful route between Londonderry and Manchester was also axed by British Airways in 2005 as part of its rationalisation of regional services. Aer Arann operated services to Manchester and Birmingham for a short time.

In May 2006, the European Commission gave its approval for the British and Irish governments to invest €15 million in the airport. Although this work did not include for the lengthening of the single serviceable runway, it included the expansion of the safety zones at each end which would allow jets to land and take off with full passenger capacities. Operators of Boeing 737 jets were previously limited to 80% capacity as a safety feature due to the short length of the runway. Other works included the expansion of the apron immediately in front of the control tower which would allow for the parking of several aircraft at any one time. As a prelude to the expansion at the airport several families were removed from their homes under a Government Compulsory Purchase scheme before the buildings and outbuildings were levelled.

The Future

At the end of 2008 work will begin on dualling the A2 from Maydown to Eglinton and the Airport, completing by 2011 a high speed dual carriageway connection to the city. This scheme is proposed to integrate with future motorway schemes from Londonderry to the Irish Republic border at Aughnacloy and from Dungiven thus increasing the catchment area where it is a viable alternative to the two Belfast Airports.

The main Londonderry - Belfast railway line also passes metres from the runway. With future investment from the Republic and Northern Ireland Governments in public transport, it is quite feasible that together with the re-routing of the line and formation of a passing loop that a rail interchange station at the airport could also be constructed.

Plans have recently been announced in the Derry Journal that City of Derry Council, who own and operate the airport are tendering for a development plan which could see a Hotel, Aircraft Painting Hangers, Freight Buildings and Office Accommodation built in the next 10 years. Such plans will no doubt be effected by the loss of routes and operators at the airport due to the economic downturn and the worldwide credit crunch.

In recent months although losing one airline, BA, from the airports portfolio, two airlines, Aer Arann and Flybe, have announced their return. Ryanair has also announced two new flights to London Luton and Birmingham while discontinuing the flights to Bristol (ends 28th September) and East Midlands (ends 25 October). However, the route to Glasgow International, operated by Loganair as a Flybe franchise has been axed due to rising fuel costs. The route was operated by Loganair, then BA as a franchise agreement, for over 30 years.

Incidents and accidents

• 29 March 2006 - the Irish airline Eirjet issued an apology after a flight it operated from Liverpool John Lennon Airport to City of Derry Airport on behalf of Ryanair landed at the wrong airfield, touching down at Ballykelly Airfield, a former RAF base and more recently an Army base some 10 kilometres (6 miles) away from its intended destination. The statement explained that the incident was caused by an "error by the Eirjet pilot who mistakenly believed he was on a visual approach to City of Derry airport". An air accident investigation report in January 2007 reported that the pilot had been unable to obtain the correct set of charts prior to the flight, only obtaining them the day after the incident. The pilot stated that if he had seen the charts, he would have been fully aware of the existence of Ballykelly and would not have landed there. The crew believed the instrument landing aid system at City of Derry was malfunctioning as what they saw of the runway did not match the instrument readings and the presence of an instrument calibrating aircraft close by added to their belief that there was a technical fault. The report also stated that although an air traffic controller thought the jet was "slightly low" he did not warn the crew about the other runway.
• 24 May 2007 - The airport was closed by Civil Aviation Authority following an inspection. Problems found include lack of an effective bird control plan, unsuitable temporary repairs to the area where planes park and poor runway drainage. Four days later, after reinspection, the CAA allowed the airport to be reopened. Changes made to the airport included placing nets over culverts and ponds near by, repairs to the aircraft parking apron and minor drainage work carried out on the runway. All cancelled airlines, including British Airways and Ryanair subsequently resumed full services.

Airlines and destinations

The following scheduled airlines use City of Derry Airport (as of October 2008):

• Aer Arann (Dublin)
• Ryanair (Birmingham , East Midlands , Glasgow-Prestwick, Liverpool, London-Luton , London-Stansted)

There are also chartered routes to the following destinations:

• First Choice Airways - Falcon Holidays (Reus, Salou, Spain recommencing May 2009)
• First Choice Airways - Falcon Holidays (Palma, Majorca, Spain recommencing May 2009)

Statistics

Passenger numbers for 2005 fell following a reduction in Ryanair services to London Stansted due to safety restrictions over the absence of a runway overshoot area . Services were then restored following the commencement of work on a runway extension. In 2006 new Ryanair services commenced to East Midlands, Liverpool and Glasgow-Prestwick, with Bristol commencing in November 2007. Passenger numbers for 2007 were 427,586, with over 500,000 passengers forecast in 2008 and up to 650,000 in 2009 following completion of the runway extension.

References

1. Civil Aviation Authority Aerodrome Ordinary Licences
2. Aer Arann Announces New Routes From Londonderry to Manchester and Birmingham Retrieved 2008-06-15
3. BBC News
4. Airport shut over safety concerns
5. BBC News - City airport cleared to re-open
6. Number of Passengers including both domestic and international.
7. Number of Movements represents total air transport takeoffs and landings during that year.

• Template:WAD

External links

• Official website

v t e Airports in Ireland
Northern Ireland	Belfast City Belfast International City of Derry Smaller Enniskillen/St Angelo Newtownards
Republic of Ireland (statistics)	Cork Donegal Dublin Kerry Ireland West Knock Shannon Smaller Abbeyshrule Athboy Ballyboughal Bantry Birr Casement/Baldonnell Connemara Galway Inisheer Inishmaan Inishmore Kilkenny Newcastle Sligo Trim Waterford Weston
Smaller airports handling domestic, charter or private services only.

• Airports in Northern Ireland
• Transport in County Londonderry
• Buildings and structures in County Londonderry