Edinburgh Airport (Redirected from RAF Turnhouse)

Edinburgh Airport

Port-adhair Dhùn Èideann
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerGlobal Infrastructure Partners
OperatorEdinburgh Airport Ltd.
Serves
LocationEdinburgh, Scotland
Elevation AMSL136 ft / 41 m
Coordinates55°57′00″N 003°22′21″W / 55.95000°N 3.37250°W / 55.95000; -3.37250
Websitewww.edinburghairport.com
Map
EGPH is located in the City of Edinburgh council area
EGPH
EGPH
Location in Edinburgh
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
06/24 2,556 8,386 Asphalt
Statistics (2022)
Passengers11,250,211
Passenger change 21-22Increase272%
Aircraft movements93,004
Movements change 21-22Increase136%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS
Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority

Edinburgh Airport (Scottish Gaelic: Port-adhair Dhùn Èideann) (IATA: EDI, ICAO: EGPH) is an airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was the busiest airport in Scotland in 2019, handling over 14.7 million passengers. It was also the sixth-busiest airport in the United Kingdom by total passengers in 2019. It is located 5 NM (9.3 km; 5.8 mi) west of the city centre, just off the M8 and M9 motorways. It is owned and operated by Global Infrastructure Partners, who are also a minority shareholder of Gatwick Airport. The airport has one runway and one passenger terminal and employs about 2,500 people.

History

Early years

"Map of Air Routes and Landing Places in Great Britain, as temporarily arranged by the Air Ministry for civilian flying", published in 1919, shows Turnhouse as a "military and civil station".

Turnhouse Aerodrome was the northernmost British air defence base in World War I used by the Royal Flying Corps. The small base opened in 1916 and it was used to house the 603 (City of Edinburgh) Squadron from 1925, which consisted of DH 9As, Westland Wapitis, Hawker Harts, and Hawker Hind light bombers. All the aircraft used a grass airstrip.

In 1918 the Royal Air Force was formed and the airfield was named RAF Turnhouse and ownership was transferred to the Air Ministry.

When the Second World War broke out, RAF Fighter Command took control over the airfield and a runway of 3,900 ft (1,189 m) was paved to handle the Supermarine Spitfire. During the Battle of Britain, 3, 65, and 141 Squadrons were present at the airbase.

Post Second World War

When the war ended the airfield remained under military control. It was officially opened for commercial traffic on 19 May 1947. The first commercial flight to use the airport was a British European Airways service from London (Northolt) to Shetland, with Edinburgh and Aberdeen being intermediate stopping points. The aircraft was an 18-seat Douglas C47.

In 1952, the runway was extended to 6000 ft to handle the Vampire FB5s operated by the resident 603 Squadron, and an aircraft arresting barrier net was installed to protect traffic on the adjacent A9 road.[citation needed] The net remained in place until the early 1970s and was used to stop one of the Ferranti Flying Unit Buccaneers which had overrun the runway. A further use was in 1970 when a Meteor TT20, operated by the RN Fleet Requirement Unit, overran the runway and ended up in the net. In 1956, a new passenger terminal was built to provide an improved commercial service; five years later it was extended.[citation needed] After the disbandment of the 603 Squadron in March 1957, the Air Ministry transferred ownership to the Ministry of Aviation in 1960 to offer improved commercial service to the airport. Flying was temporarily diverted to East Fortune, which had its runway extended to accommodate the airliners of the period.[citation needed]

BAA ownership 1971 to 2012

Aerial view of Edinburgh Airport (2017)
Departure gate area (2009)
Air Traffic Control tower (2010)

The British Airports Authority (BAA) took over ownership of the airport on 1 April 1971 at a time when the original terminal building was running at about eight times its design capacity. Immediate improvements to the terminal were cosmetic, such as extra seating and TV monitors for flight information, and it took two years for plans to be proposed for a completely new terminal and runway redesign. Public consultation on planning started in November 1971 and ended in February 1972. The initial stages of the redevelopment began in June 1973; they included a diversion of the River Almond. Work on the new terminal building, designed by Sir Robert Matthew, started in March 1975, and the building was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 27 May 1977, opening to the public two days later.

Although the original main runway 13/31 (which is now 12/30) served the airport well, its alignment (NW-SE) had the disadvantage of suffering from severe crosswinds, and the other two minor runways were very short and could not be readily extended, so movements were transferred to a new runway (07/25, which has since become 06/24) in an addition completely outside the original airfield boundary. This runway, completed in 1977, is 2,556 m (8,386 ft) in length, and was able to take all modern airliners including Concorde. A new terminal was built alongside the runway to cater for the additional traffic. The old terminal and hangars were converted into a cargo centre.

International service from Edinburgh began in 1962 with direct service to Dublin, but for many years international flights were charter and private only. This started to change during the late 1970s, with direct services to continental Europe (Amsterdam, 1975). By the mid-1980s direct routes included Paris, Düsseldorf, Brussels, Frankfurt and Copenhagen, but direct transatlantic flights were not yet possible as Glasgow-Prestwick was the only "designated gateway" in Scotland under the US-UK Bermuda II Agreement. By the time BAA had been privatised in 1987, Edinburgh Airport handled over 1.8 million passengers each year; compared to the 681,000 passengers handled in 1971 when BAA first took control of the airport.

RAF Turnhouse was operational near the passenger terminal of the airport for all of the post-war period but was finally closed in 1997.

Since the original terminal upgrade in 1977, there have been major reconstructions, including extensions of the two passenger terminal aprons and a major expansion of car parking facilities, including a multi-storey car park in 2004. In 2005, a new 57-metre-tall (187 ft) air traffic control tower was completed for £10m. An extension to the terminal called the South East Pier opened in September 2006. This extension initially added six gates on a new pier to the southeast of the original building. A further four gates were added to the South East Pier at the end of 2008.

On 19 October 2011, BAA Limited announced its intention to sell the airport, following a decision by the UK's Competition Commission requiring BAA to sell either Glasgow Airport or Edinburgh Airport. BAA announced on 23 April 2012 that it had sold Edinburgh Airport to Global Infrastructure Partners for a price of £807.2 million, equivalent to £1014 million in 2021.

Expansion

In 2013, a further extension to the passenger terminal was announced, taking the terminal building up to the Edinburgh Airport tram stop. The Edinburgh Trams opening in May 2014 created the first rail connection to Edinburgh Airport. Whilst the number of passengers has increased, the number of flights decreased in 2014 due to planes operating at a higher capacity. Passenger traffic at Edinburgh Airport reached a record level in 2015 with over 11.1 million passengers and over 109,000 aircraft movements. The terminal building is currently being expanded with an investment of £40m. A new £25m expansion project involving the construction of a new 6,000 m2 building, housing a security hall and retail areas, is also currently underway at the airport. On 23 February 2016, Ryanair announced a growth of 20% in passenger numbers, bringing the airline's annual passenger capacity at Edinburgh Airport to 2.5 million. This was coupled with the news of six new services to Ryanair's winter schedule from Edinburgh and more services on its popular European destinations. In February 2016, consultancy firm Biggar Economics announced that Edinburgh Airport contributes almost £1 billion annually to the Scottish economy. As part of the expansion works, Runway 12/30 was officially withdrawn from use on 29 March 2018.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and cargo flights to and from Edinburgh:

AirlinesDestinations
Aegean Airlines Athens
Aer Lingus Belfast–City, Dublin
Air Canada Toronto–Pearson
Air France Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Atlantic Airways Seasonal: Vágar
Aurigny Seasonal: Guernsey (begins 29 May 2024)
BH Air Seasonal: Burgas
British Airways London–City, London–Heathrow
Seasonal: Chambéry, Florence, Palma de Mallorca
Brussels Airlines Brussels
Delta Air Lines New York–JFK
Seasonal: Atlanta, Boston
easyJet Alicante, Amsterdam, Basel/Mulhouse, Belfast–International, Berlin, Birmingham, Bristol, Copenhagen, Geneva, Hamburg, Kraków, Lanzarote, Lisbon, London–Gatwick, London–Luton, London–Stansted, Lyon, Madrid, Milan–Malpensa, Munich, Naples, Paphos, Paris–Charles de Gaulle, Reykjavik–Keflavik, Tenerife–South, Venice
Seasonal: Antalya, Athens, Bodrum, Catania, Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Fuerteventura, Grenoble, Heraklion, Hurghada, Jersey, Kefalonia, Nice, Palma de Mallorca, Prague, Rovaniemi (begins 3 December 2023), Rhodes, Santorini
Edelweiss Air Zurich
Eurowings Cologne/Bonn, Düsseldorf
Finnair Helsinki
Iberia Express Seasonal: Madrid
Jet2.com Alicante, Antalya, Fuerteventura, Funchal, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Málaga, Rome–Fiumicino (begins 8 March 2024), Tenerife–South
Seasonal: Bodrum, Burgas (begins 1 May 2025), Catania (begins 7 May 2025), Chambéry (begins 10 February 2024), Corfu, Dalaman, Dubrovnik, Faro, Geneva, Heraklion, Ibiza, Innsbruck, İzmir, Kos, Larnaca, Malta (begins 1 May 2024), Menorca, Naples, Palma de Mallorca, Paphos, Prague (begins 3 October 2024), Preveza/Lefkada, Reus, Rhodes, Salzburg, Santorini, Split, Thessaloniki, Turin, Verona, Vienna (begins 23 November 2023), Zakynthos
JetBlue Seasonal: New York–JFK (begins 23 May 2024)
KLM Amsterdam
Loganair Bergen, Cardiff, Exeter, Isle of Man, Kirkwall, Southampton, Stornoway, Sumburgh
Seasonal: Newquay
Lufthansa Frankfurt, Munich
Norwegian Air Shuttle Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm–Arlanda
Qatar Airways Doha
Ryanair Alicante, Barcelona, Bari, Paris-Beauvais, Belfast–International, Bergamo, Berlin, Billund, Bologna, Bournemouth, Bratislava, Bucharest–Otopeni, Budapest, Charleroi, Copenhagen, Cork, Dublin, Eindhoven, Faro, Fuerteventura, Gdańsk, Gothenburg, Gran Canaria, Hamburg, Kaunas, Knock, Kraków, Lanzarote, Lisbon, London–Stansted, Madrid, Málaga, Malta, Marrakesh, Nantes, Naples, Palermo, Porto, Poznań, Prague, Riga, Rome–Ciampino, Santander, Seville, Shannon, Sofia, Tenerife–South, Tirana, Venice, Vienna, Warsaw–Modlin, Weeze, Wroclaw
Seasonal: Béziers, Bordeaux, Corfu, Ibiza, Marseille, Newquay, Palma de Mallorca, Pisa, Rhodes, Toulouse, Valencia, Zadar
Scandinavian Airlines Stockholm–Arlanda
Seasonal: Copenhagen
Southwind Airlines Seasonal: Antalya (begins 31 March 2024)
SunExpress Antalya
Seasonal: Dalaman (begins 1 April 2024), İzmir
Transavia Rotterdam/The Hague
Seasonal: Paris–Orly
TUI Airways Seasonal: Chambéry, Corfu, Dalaman, Innsbruck, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife–South (ends 5 January 2024)
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
United Airlines Newark
Seasonal: Chicago–O'Hare, Washington–Dulles
Virgin Atlantic Seasonal: Orlando
Vueling Barcelona
WestJet Seasonal: Calgary, Halifax (begins 20 June 2024), Toronto–Pearson (resumes 14 May 2024)

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
DHL Aviation East Midlands, Leipzig/Halle
FedEx Express Paris–Charles de Gaulle
Royal Mail Aberdeen, Inverness

Statistics

Passenger numbers

Edinburgh Airport Passenger Totals. See Wikidata query.
Year Number of passengers Number of
aircraft
movements
1985 1,578,000 36,926
1986 1,651,000 36,596
1987 1,852,000 39,603
1988 2,080,000 40,664
1989 2,369,000 47,100
1990 2,495,000 47,900
1991 2,343,000 49,700
1992 2,539,000 56,400
1993 2,721,000 58,800
1994 3,001,000 61,100
1995 3,280,000 64,000
1996 3,810,000 68,800
1997 4,214,919 99,352
1998 4,588,507 100,134
1999 5,119,258 101,226
2000 5,519,372 102,393
2001 6,067,333 112,361
2002 6,930,649 118,416
2003 7,481,454 118,943
2004 8,017,547 125,317
2005 8,456,739 127,122
2006 8,611,345 126,914
2007 9,047,558 128,172
2008 9,006,702 125,550
2009 9,049,355 115,969
2010 8,596,715 108,997
2011 9,385,245 113,357
2012 9,195,061 110,288
2013 9,775,443 111,736
2014 10,160,004 109,545
2015 11,114,587 115,286
2016 12,348,425 122,220
2017 13,410,256 128,675
2018 14,310,403 130,016
2019 14,747,830 131,617
2020 3,478,501 45,966
2021 3,024,960 34,165
2022 11,250,211 93,004
Source:United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority

Busiest routes

The changes shown in the table are from an exceptionally low base, due to COVID.

Busiest international routes from EDI (2022)
Rank Destination Passengers Change 2021
to 2022
1 Dublin 572,050 Increase 263%
2 Amsterdam 471,698 Increase 259%
3 Paris-Charles de Gaulle 307,322 Increase 398%
4 Tenerife-South 285,021 Increase 314%
5 Alicante 210,523 Increase 382%
6 Frankfurt 192,170 Increase 359%
7 Palma de Mallorca 190,095 Increase 392%
8 Copenhagen 180,360 Increase 504%
9 Barcelona 179,948 Increase 397%
10 Málaga 170,871 Increase 421%
Source: CAA Statistics

Access and ground transport

Airlink 100 bus on Waverley Bridge
Edinburgh Gateway station interchange stop
Edinburgh Airport tram terminus
Transport at
Edinburgh Airport
Legend
National Rail Dalmeny
Winchburgh Tunnel
Edinburgh Airport Airport interchange
Ingliston Park & Ride Parking
Gogarburn
National Rail Edinburgh Gateway
Gyle Centre
National Rail South Gyle
Edinburgh Park Central
National Rail Edinburgh Park
Bankhead
Saughton
Balgreen
Murrayfield Stadium
National Rail Haymarket
West End
Princes Street
National Rail Waverley/St Andrew Sq
York Place

Bus

Several operators provide bus services from the airport:

Road

The airport lies on the A8 road, and can be reached by the M8 motorway and the M9 motorway. The airport can also be reached from the M90 motorway via the Queensferry Crossing.

Train

The airport has no dedicated railway station. However, it is served by the nearby Edinburgh Gateway station, which serves as an interchange with Edinburgh Trams services to the airport. The tram line also connects the airport to the nearby Edinburgh Park railway station.

A more expensive Edinburgh Airport Rail Link project to provide a direct heavy rail link was cancelled in 2007 due to increasing costs.

Tram

The airport is served by Edinburgh Trams, a light rail link.

The line from the airport travels eastwards through the western suburbs and the city centre of Edinburgh before heading north onto Leith eventually terminating at Newhaven.

Preceding station   Edinburgh Trams   Following station
Ingliston Park & Ride
towards Newhaven
  Newhaven - Edinburgh Airport   Terminus

Accidents and incidents

On 20 July 1970, a Hawker Siddeley HS-125-3B (G-AXPS) operated by the Imperial Tobacco Company crashed on takeoff from Turnhouse on an empty positioning flight to Newcastle. The aircraft was a total loss and whilst the pilot was uninjured, the copilot was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. The probable cause of the crash was thought to be the application of an incorrect rudder following a simulated engine failure on take-off. The reason for this application of an incorrect rudder has not been determined.

A De Havilland Moth Minor (G-AFOZ) crashed at Turnhouse during a low-level display on 3 May 1975. One of the two occupants died in the hospital the following day.

On 27 February 2001, a Loganair Shorts 360 (G-BNMT) operating a Royal Mail flight to Belfast, crashed into the Firth of Forth shortly after taking off from Edinburgh at 1730 GMT. Both crew members were killed, but there were no passengers on board. A fatal accident inquiry later blamed a buildup of slush in the aircraft's engines before the crash. A protective covering had not been fitted to the engine intakes while the aircraft was parked at Edinburgh for several hours in heavy snow.


This page was last updated at 2023-11-19 02:34 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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