Newcastle International Airport
File:NewcastleAirport.svg
IATA: NCL ICAO: EGNT
Summary
Airport type	Public
Owner	Newcastle Airport Local Authority Holding Company Ltd (51%), AMP Capital (49%).
Operator	Newcastle International Airport Ltd
Serves	Tyne and Wear County Durham Cumbria North Yorkshire Northumberland
Location	Woolsington, Newcastle upon Tyne
Elevation AMSL	266 ft / 81 m
Coordinates	55°02′17″N 001°41′23″W / 55.03806°N 1.68972°W / 55.03806; -1.68972
Website	newcastleairport.com
Map
EGNT Location in Tyne and Wear
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 07/25 2,329 7,641 Asphalt
Statistics (2016)
Passengers 4,807,906 Passenger change 15-16 5.4% Aircraft Movements 56,263 Movements change 15-16 0.6%
Sources: UK AIP at NATS[1] Statistics from the UK Civil Aviation Authority[2]

Newcastle International Airport (IATA: NCL, ICAO: EGNT) is an international airport located near the main area of Newcastle upon Tyne, England, 5 nautical miles (9.3 km; 5.8 mi)^[1] north-west of the city centre. In 2016 it was the 11th busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the second busiest in Northern England after Manchester Airport, handling over 4.8 million passengers.^[2] Newcastle Airport has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence (Number P725) that allows flights for the public transport of passengers or for flying instruction.

The airport is owned by seven local authorities (51%) and AMP Capital (49%). The seven local authorities are: City of Newcastle, City of Sunderland, Durham County Council, Gateshead MBC, North Tyneside MBC, Northumberland County Council and South Tyneside MBC. On 27 October 2012 Copenhagen Airport sold the stake in the airport to AMP Capital, which is an Australian-based Investment Management Company. ^{[citation needed]}

The airport mainly serves the City of Newcastle, the greater Tyneside area, Northumberland and Wearside. The airport competes with the smaller Durham Tees Valley Airport for passengers travelling from and to County Durham and Teesside. Passengers from Cumbria, North Yorkshire and southern Scotland also use the airport, the nearest similar sized airport being Leeds Bradford Airport to the south and the larger Edinburgh and Glasgow International airports to the north. In terms of passenger numbers, Newcastle is the second largest airport in the North of England, after Manchester Airport.

The Airport was opened on 26 July 1935 as Woolsington Aerodrome by the Secretary of State for Air, Sir Phillip Cunliffe-Lister. Incorporating a clubhouse, hangar, workshops, fuel garage and grass runway, at the time it cost £35,000 to build.^[3]

Although during World War II the main airport in the region was located at Cramlington in Northumberland, following the war a decision was taken to concentrate development on the present airport site. ^{[citation needed]} Accordingly, in the early 1950s, ex-RAF fighter pilot Jim Denyer was appointed as Airport Manager and within a few years over 5,000 people were using the Airport each year to travel to destinations such as Jersey and the Isle of Wight.^{[citation needed]}

The 1960s saw tremendous growth in passenger numbers at the airport.^{[citation needed]} This was mainly due to British people taking foreign holidays to places such as Spain instead of holidaying within the UK. A new runway was built, along with an apron and a new air traffic control tower. These new additions were opened by the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson.

In the 1970s, with passenger figures approaching one million per year, the Airport status was changed to Category B, making it a regional international airport, in the same decade it was re-branded as Newcastle Airport. The 80's saw further investment in check-in, catering and duty-free shops. In 1991, Airport Metro station opened, connecting the airport with Newcastle city centre using the Tyne and Wear Metro system. A new £27 million extension was opened in 2000 by the Prime Minister Tony Blair and the first low-cost airline arrived at the airport, with Go inaugurating a service to London Stansted following the collapse of locally based Gill Airways.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001 the SAS Group announced that an agreement had been concluded to increase its holding in Spanair from 49% to 74% of the shares.^[4]

In August 2004 an extended and refurbished Departure Terminal was opened. The refurbishment comprised a 3,000 square metre extension which included new shops, cafes and 1,200 new waiting seats.^[5]

In 2006 a record 5.4 million passengers used the Airport, according to Civil Aviation Authority figures.^[6]

Rapid expansion in passenger traffic has led to increasing commercial utilization of the south-side of the airport, which was previously used for general aviation, and is now used for freight, mail and corporate flights. This is partially due to difficulties obtaining departure and arrival slots for light aircraft traffic, which need to be separated from larger aircraft to protect against wake turbulence. As part of the Airport Master Plan, the south-side area is to be expanded with maintenance facilities including new hangar and apron areas.^[7]

In August 2016, United Airlines announced it would discontinue its seasonal route from Newark to Newcastle in 2017, citing economic reasons.^[8] Therefore, Newcastle Airport lost one of its two long-haul services.

Newcastle Airport Freight Village is located south to the Airport and bases Emirates SkyCargo, FedEx, Servisair Cargo and North East Air Cargo company offices to deal with freight such as mail and cargo to export and import goods to and from Newcastle and across the world. It also houses Freight Forwarding Agents such as; Camair, DHL, Kintetsu World Express, Kuehne & Nagel, Nippon Express, Schenker International, Davis Turner Air Cargo and Universal Forwarding.

In April 2016 Emirates reported that Flown exports have soared to £310m a year since the arrival of the Emirates service from Newcastle to Dubai. The Dubai route contributes some £600m to the economy and has opened unlimited export avenues to North East firms, some of whom have opened offices in the UAE.

All cargo operations are based on the southern apron, including the Jet2 737 (quick change) aircraft which operates every night. It has its seats removed so it can carry mail to East Midlands (on behalf of Royal Mail) and they are then replaced, ready for the morning flight. It also houses West Atlantic and more.

The Airport is also home to the Newcastle Airport Fire Academy.^[9][10] The Newcastle Aviation Academy is also located within this area. When Gill Airways existed, its head office was in the New Aviation House, on the airport property.^[11]

The following airlines operate regular scheduled and charter services to and from Newcastle:^[12]

• 30 November 2000 - A Piper Aerostar registered N64719 en route to Iceland crashed close to Fearnoch, on the north side of Loch Tay in Perthshire, killing the single crewmember. The aircraft had departed from Newcastle Airport. The accident report concluded that the aircraft gradually lost airspeed during an icing encounter, before stalling and the pilot losing control.^[17]
• 11 February 2004 - A Robinson R22 Beta lost height while in a hover taxi and impacted the ground causing major damage to the aircraft and minor injuries to the pilot and passenger.^[18]
• 5 August 2008 - A Royal Air Force Tornado GR4A overran the runway making an emergency landing after suffering a bird strike. The crew were uninjured although the aircraft suffered damage.^[19]
• 25 May 2009 - A Rockwell Commander 112 registered G-FLPI veered off the runway while landing. The nosewheel collapsed, the propeller and fuselage suffered damage, but the pilot was uninjured.^[20]
• 25 November 2010 - A Boeing 737-800 registered G-FDZR stopped on the paved surface but with the nosewheel 10 ft beyond the marked runway end. The runway was reported to have a covering of 2 mm of wet snow. ^{[citation needed]}
• 5 December 2015 - A Embraer ERJ 145 registered G-CGWV left wing touched the runway surface during a night landing in gusty wind conditions. Damage to the left wingtip and aileron was found after the flight. The crew were uninjured although the aircraft suffered damage. ^{[citation needed]}

The airport saw significant growth in the ten years to 2007, when passenger numbers peaked at 5.65 million, more than double the number handled ten years earlier. Passenger numbers declined in the subsequent four years due to the financial crisis of 2007–2010, with around 4.8 million passengers passing through the airport in 2016 (close to the 2004 total), although cargo volumes have broadly increased to record levels since 2005.^[2]

Newcastle Airport Passenger Totals 1997-2016 (millions)

Updated: 15 March 2017.[2]

Busiest routes to and from Newcastle (2016)^[21]

Rank	Airport	Total passengers	Change 2015 / 16
1	London–Heathrow	499,479	2.7%
2	Amsterdam	363,690	4.3%
3	Alicante	340,357	45.1%
4	Palma de Mallorca	257,176	13.3%
5	Belfast–International	250,418	14.1%
6	Málaga	238,845	40.6%
7	Dublin	232,538	17.2%
8	Dubai–International	231,047	1.0%
9	Tenerife–South	215,583	23.4%
10	Bristol	164,595	2.7%
11	Paris–Charles de Gaulle	148,784	3.3%
12	Faro	121,000	9.7%
13	Southampton	117,767	7.6%
14	Lanzarote	113,133	18.6%
15	Barcelona	98,753	49.0%
16	Ibiza	79,462	5.0%
17	Dalaman	78,001	38.3%
18	Geneva	68,226	11.5%
19	Gran Canaria	62,178	64.5%
20	Reus	60,539	49.2%

Airport station on the Tyne and Wear Metro is directly connected to the terminal through an indoor walkway. The station is the northern terminus of the green line with frequent direct services to all the main Newcastle and Sunderland City Centre Metro Stations (approx 20 and 50 minutes respectively).

The Airport is connected to the A1 trunk road by the A696 dual carriageway. A half-hourly bus service links the Airport to the nearby villages of Ponteland and Darras Hall, as well as to the City Centre.

Media related to Newcastle International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website