Dundee Airport

Dundee Airport Port-adhair Dhùn Dè
Focus city for		AMSL	17 ft / 5 m
Coordinates	56°27′09″N 003°01′33″W / 56.45250°N 3.02583°W / 56.45250; -3.02583
Website	www.hial.co.uk/dundee-airport/
Map
EGPN Location in Dundee
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 09/27 1,400 4,593 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers 38,451 Passenger change 21-22 96% Aircraft Movements 1,458 Movements change 21-22 47%
Sources: UK NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Dundee Airport (

It is a popular transport hub for golf players, as it is the closest airport to the championship courses at St Andrews, Gleneagles and Carnoustie.^[3] During international competitions, the airport is often at its busiest with charter and private aircraft.^[4] There are also flights operated by Loganair.

History

The airport was opened in 1963 on land reclaimed from the Firth of Tay. Originally it had a 900 m (2,953 ft) grass runway. The first scheduled air service began on 5 July 1966, with a service to Glasgow. A fortnight later a feeder service was added for Edinburgh and Prestwick.^[5] The service was stopped on 31 October 1967 after British Eagle reported £10,000 losses. Around this time the control of Dundee City Council changed from Labour to Conservative, and the airport was closed and the land used by Dundee University as playing fields. When control of the Council changed back again to Labour the airport was reopened.^[6]

The grass runway was replaced by a 1,100 m (3,609 ft) long tarmac runway in the 1970s, and extended to the current length of 1,400 m (4,593 ft) in the 1990s. The airport was granted "customs airport" status on 16 April 1982^[7] and runway edge lights were added in 1983.^[8] The current terminal was opened in 1997 by the then EU transport commissioner Neil Kinnock.

During the 1980s Air Ecosse operated services to Aberdeen, Carlisle, Manchester, and Esbjerg using Short 330 and Short 360 aircraft. This included a 360 in the Royal Mail Special Services "Datapost" colour scheme.

Ramsay World Travel from Dundee also operated a weekly charter to Jersey in the summer months in association with Lewis's Holidays, and in 1996 they ran a series of weekly flights to Majorca using

ScotAirways then operated under the CityJet banner for Air France from 2007 to September 2009.

In September 2009 CityJet became a commercial brand within

The Dundee to London City route was flown by

On 29 May 2007, services to Birmingham and Belfast City operated by FlyWhoosh, using ATR 42 aircraft, started. The company, which was effectively only a ticket agent, used the services of a Polish airline White Eagle Aviation (WEA), which based an aircraft at Dundee Airport.^[11] In December 2007 these services ceased, amid some confusion as to what exactly caused the termination of services.^[12]

On 3 March 2008,

In October 2012, Loganair announced the closure of flights to Belfast City and Birmingham on behalf of Flybe, because of decline in passengers loads and high fuel costs as the reason for closure, leaving CityJet with its route to London-City as the only scheduled carrier in Dundee.

December 2013, CityJet announced it would be dropping the last remaining scheduled route from Dundee to London City Airport in March 2014, putting the airport's future in doubt.

January 2014, HIAL announced that

Loganair

In September 2017 Loganair became an independent airline operating in its own right. Experts said this would give the airline more freedom to operate more flights, and speculated that Dundee would figure among these additional flights.^[14] As of February 2024 the airline currently operates to London Heathrow, Kirkwall & Sumburgh airports, using an ATR 42-500 with capacity of 48 seats.

Tayside Aviation

Until it ceased trading on 20 April 2023,

Dundee City Council and HIAL

Dundee Airport had been operating at a loss of over £2 million per year from 2004 to 2007^[17] and in the first full financial year of operation under HIAL, 2008/9, the airport's loss was £2.6 million.^[18]

On 12 February 2007 it was announced that, from September 2007, the City Council would hand over the running of the airport to

Any additional scheduled flights at the airport would be limited by runway length to regional aircraft. Larger aircraft used by low-cost airlines, such as Boeing 737s, require longer runways. The largest aircraft that can land at the airport are the BAe 146 and the Airbus A318.^[20]

Flybe controversy

On 8 August 2008, HIAL and airport bosses announced that they were considering a direct air link to Amsterdam. In late October 2008, an article was placed in the Evening Telegraph concerning the possibility of flights to and from Spain. The airport operator had also stated that the A318 was fully compatible for Dundee Airport and could be used to operate these flights.^[20]

In 2016, Flybe announced Dundee's first direct international flight to Amsterdam, which started on 23 May 2016 and was operated with a 78-seater Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. The initial 5-weekly return flight was funded through the regional connectivity fund, operating through the Department for Transport's public service obligation scheme.

On 19 November, Flybe suspended the route as part of a review of the airline's operations at Dundee Airport. All passengers booked on the route were transported to

Many local people questioned Flybe's decision to withdraw the flights when it was reported that flights were fully booked up until February 2017.

Airlines and destinations

The following airline operates regular scheduled flights to and from Dundee:^[21]

Statistics and traffic

Annual traffic statistics

Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.

Annual passenger traffic at DND airport. See Wikidata query.

Traffic Statistics for Dundee Airport^[22]

Year	Passengers Handled	Passenger Change %	Aircraft Movements	Aircraft % Change
2015	21,973		1,174
2016	37,647	71.3%	1,465	24.8%
2017	21,327	43.4%	1,174	19.9%
2018	21,185	0.7%	1,215	3.5%
2019	22,024	4%	1,212	0.2%
2020	8,254	62.5%	762	45.6%
2021[23]	19,658	78.6%	995	38.5%
2022[24]	38,451	96.0%	1,458	47.0%

Scheduled flights were suspended for periods throughout 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, therefore resulting in significantly reduced passenger numbers for the year.^[25]

Busiest routes

Busiest routes to and from Dundee Airport in 2022^[26]

Rank	Airport	Passengers	Passenger Change
1	London City	28,211	99.0%
2	Belfast City	6,908	38.8%
3	Sumburgh	1,352	NEW

Perth Airport incursion

While

The airport lies on the main A85 Riverside Drive, which links the city centre to the Kingsway and the A90, with the airport approximately 2 miles from the city centre itself. Taxis are available from outside the airport.

Bus

Dundee Airport is a short taxi ride from the main Dundee bus station. Direct buses to many other major destinations are available from the station. Chartered buses can also be booked with local operators.

Rail

The airport is also a short drive from

• On 24 October 2003, a U.S.-registered six-seater
  TBM 700 came down 200 metres short of the runway in the Tay Estuary. The hovercraft
  was deployed and the occupants were rescued from the aircraft in around 15 minutes. The four people on board received only minor injuries.
• On 6 June 2005, an instructor and trainee escaped uninjured when a Grob G 115 crashed through a fence at Dundee Airport after the novice got into difficulties. The plane was extensively damaged in the accident.^[28]
• On 3 May 2015, two men died in a G-Rick Beech Baron aircraft near Abernyte, Scotland which was due to land at Dundee Airport at midday. The wreckage was found at about 4pm. The plane was thought to have been travelling from Inverness to Dundee, which is a base for light aircraft.

References

External links

• Official website