Edinburgh Airport pulls back on expansion plans in its draft Master Plan
need to consider a second runway for another 20 years.
development plans until 2040.
but does not now expect to reach that number before 2020.
million* to 12.3 million per year until 2020, with aircraft movements increasing
from 116,200 to 141,300.
facilities at the airport and to the site will be improved.
boundaries.
sufficient for up to 13 million passengers per year.
year by 2040, with more than half travelling to and from international destinations.
According to projections, aircraft movements could also increase to 200,600 per
year. [There were 100,592 air transport movements at Edinburgh in 2010].
consulting as widely as possible on its masterplan over the next few months.
of our post-recession economy and keen to capitalise on the opportunities that
will arise when our economy begins to grow again.
and understanding to local communities, local authorities and wider business and
tourism interests whose futures depend very much on a strong, successful and well-connected
airport.”
after which a final masterplan will be drawn up.
this year and 2020, according to a “masterplan” for the site.
estimates that aircraft movements will increase from 116,200 arrivals and departures
predicted for this year, to 141,300 per year by 2020.
decade, according to the projections, and new aircraft hangars and stands will
be built.
annum by 2040, with over half travelling to and from international destinations.
Aircraft movements could also increase to 200,600 per year by 2040.
the masterplan today.
our vision for our airport, the blueprint for its development over the coming
years.
playing a crucial role in the growth and prosperity of Edinburgh, the Lothians
and Scotland as a whole.
as possible, gathering opinion and comment from people, communities and organisations
across the country on how our vision fits with their aspirations and plans.
economy and keen to capitalise on the opportunities that will arise when our economy
begins to grow again.”
The Future of Air Transport, which set out the framework for the development of
major UK airports, including Edinburgh Airport.
Airport intends to deliver the white paper’s aims in a “sustainable and responsible”
manner.
interest in the site, from local communities to the Scottish Government, via a
dedicated website at
be part of the consultation
around end of April) before BAA finalise it. And of course, Master Plans are
just airport “wish lists” with no greater authority than that, with no planning
or legal status.
passengers and 55% ATMs out to 2050, over 2005 levels for UK airports in total
(based on Government criteria giving the industry special treatment over other
sectors, and guesstimates of aircraft efficiencies yet to be proven).
an uplift of 46% in passengers and 29% in ATMs.
143% in passenger numbers and 84% in ATMs over 2005.
will arrive at the 60% growth, one wonders how they will all work together to
share the permitted growth between themselves. They cannot all grow at the rate
Edinburgh hopes for.
government, and has yet to be endorsed by the new Coalition government.
firmly on the Air Transport White Paper, and this thread remains in sight throughout
the plan. They appear to make no attempt to move forward from this stance. In
fact they actually quote – “The White Paper is currently the principal policy
document with which future proposals for Edinburgh Airport should be aligned”.
UK and they desire to solidify this position, if not improve on it, pointing out
that Edinburgh Airport has bucked the recent trend downwards in aviation by registering
“consistent if modest growth” over the past number of years, including a 1% increase
in passenger numbers in 2009.
that it supported 7,710 jobs across Scotland and brought £264.6M to the Scottish
Economy – but it’s not clear to me whether this is the residual figure after the
tourist deficit is factored in.
out to 2040, and it notes that its figures out to 2020 “are well detailed”. Out
to 2020 they claim passenger numbers will grow to 12.3M and movements to 141,300.
These figures are within the CCC overall growth figures for 2005-2050 but are
high considering they are arrived at by 2020. They claim that the figures of 20.5M
passengers and 200,600 movements for 2040 are “more of a guess”, but these figures
are well above the CCC recommendations out to 2050, and beg the question – “Has
the management of Edinburgh Airport taken account of the CCC Report of December
2009?”
– beyond the prediction for 2020.
laws that the Airport must obey in its day to day running, but perhaps the discussion
of how passengers will arrive at the airport is somewhat key. Edinburgh is getting
trams, and they will run to the airport. However, in Edinburgh the word “tram”
is most definitely of the 4 letter variety. They are “years late” and “way over
budget” – indeed, in order to keep in budget, the managers of the tram line keep
shortening the length of tram line to be laid!
Jeffrey who was Manager of Edinburgh Airport at the time of the ATWP. Such is
the uncertainty surrounding the tram line that the plan states that it will be
“operational in a few years” … i.e. predicting a delivery date for the trams is
now “over the horizon”.
143% in passenger numbers and 84% in movements, clearly they expect the “average”
aircraft using the airport in the future to be much larger than today. They also
make a claim that international passengers using Edinburgh Airport have grown
80% in the past 4 years, and they expect a further 50% on this figure out to 2020.
but that unless the passenger numbers exceed those in their prediction, this runway
will not be required out to 2040.
course, commit to trying to reduce these! Despite this, the aircraft emissions,
in their table, dwarf all the other constituents. They then proceed to “doff their
cap” to the CCC by stating that the committee has “forecast that UK Aviation can
grow whilst contributing towards government targets for cutting greenhouse gas
emissions”.
the reader to respond on.
bit.