[news] Dublin Airport Designated a Coordinated Airport

Bluetonic

Dublin Airport Designated a Coordinated Airport

The DAA has welcomed the decision by the Commission for Aviation Regulation to designate Dublin Airport as a coordinated airport for the Summer 2007 season. Dublin Airport is currently classified as a 'Schedules Facilitated' airport whereby the landing and departure times for every aircraft operating at the airport are agreed on a purely voluntary basis between user airlines and the independent coordinator, Airport Coordination Ltd. "This is good news for Dublin Airport," said Dublin Airport Director Bob Hilliard, "and a very positive step for passengers, because coordinated airports are better able to manage the peak arrival and departure times of aircraft, thereby easing some of the pressure on passenger facilities at the peak periods." For Summer 2007, Dublin Airport will become a coordinated airport requiring the independent coordinator to allocate slots at the airport up to but not exceeding the agreed operating capacity limits of the airport. At coordinated airports, airlines have no discretion but to utilise the slots allocated by the independent coordinator.

http://www.dublinairport.com/at-airport/latest-news/coordinated_airport.html

RuggieBear

ryanair are going to love this.

tbh

why so? (I'm not being sarcastic, I genuinely don't know what this all means )

RuggieBear

Airlines must make the vast majority of their scheduled times or run the risk of losing slots. whether or not they've always had a particular time or not. If they keep missing it, they can kiss good bye to it.

That's my very basic understanding of it and i am very open to being corrected or told my understanding is pure BS...lol

tbh

Cheers Ruggie, it's funny, i was talking to someone working in that field, and he said "No didn't see that but a certain man who lives in Mullingar wont be happy!!"

his explanation:

"Up to now airlines could basically go and come as they please. If Ryanair wanted to start a new route to Bristol they could say 'right, we'll leave Dub at 0800 and back whenever - now they cant say that, they will have to check it out with the co-ordinator. There would be no more 0700 rush with 6 or seven flights all sheduled for 0700 when the last one airborne will obviously will not be away before 0730. Its basically trying to put a bit of order into a free for all, avoid the huge peaks at certain times and spread the load out more evenly over the day as it were"

FlutterinBantam

Basically up to now airlines could plan their schedules out of and in to Dublin Airport as they pleased. This led to peaks and valleys in the schedule as obviously the period 0645-0745 would be extremely busy with resultant quiet periods later on.

Under the co ordinated system the schedule will be "evened out" by an independant body whose parameters will be airport capacity both on the runways and the terminal and the ramp parking areas.

The airlines will not have as much control as heretofore which is why they don't like it.

its common sense really.... bit like a busy works canteen tell the various departments to stagger their breakfast breaks instead of everyone starting at 0830!!!

tbh

FlutterinBantam wrote:

.

its common sense really.... bit like a busy works canteen tell the various departments to stagger their breakfast breaks instead of everyone starting at 0830!!!

and the government making sure that every school in the city doesn't start at the same time, thus preventing a traffic nightmare - common sense

thanks bant. Do you think it will affect passengers positively or negatively?

therecklessone

Ryanair's response

Ryanair, Europe's largest low fares airline today (12th Feb) announced that it will again sue the Commission for Aviation Regulation for unlawfully imposing full slot co-ordination at Dublin Airport.

There is no runway congestion at Dublin Airport and no need for slot co-ordination. The introduction of slot co-ordination will limit competition and drive up prices. Dublin Airport is a two runway airport which caters for just 20M passengers p.a. and there is ample room for growth. With just one runway, London Gatwick presently caters for twice as many - 40M passengers p.a.

Speaking today, Jim Callaghan, Head of Regulatory Affairs said:

"The Commission's decision to slot coordinate Dublin Airport makes even less sense this time than the last time around. There is more check-in capacity this year with 25 additional check-in desks and 14 more stands coming on stream in winter 2007 with Pier D. Runway capacity is also clearly not being fully utilised as Dublin already has 2 runways and yet handles only half the 40m traffic of the one runway Gatwick airport.

"The CAR previously imposed slot coordination at Dublin but this decision was overturned by the High Court. Ryanair has since added 9 aircraft and 3 million additional passengers, which would have been lost to the Irish market and Irish consumers had the CAR's flawed decision gone unchallenged.

"Sadly, Ryanair will again have to challenge this flawed decision by the regulator to ensure that available capacity at the airport is used to its fullest. It is because of the weak regulatory regime in Ireland that the DAA monopoly continues to artificially limit capacity in order to waste money and gold plated facilities. It is high time that the CAR stopped acting as the downtown office off the DAA monopoly and starting acting in the interests of consumers.

"This decision is bad for competition and we are confident it will again be overturned in the courts"

therecklessone

Ryanair are doing themselves no favours with their figures in that article.

Gatwick handles 32m passengers, not 40m (they expect to handle 40m by 2010/2011). Dublin handles 21m.

In terms of aircraft movements, Dublin handles 197,000 as opposed to Gatwick's 245,104. In terms of passengers/aircraft movement, Dublin has 107 while Gatwick has 131.

Dublin has got two runways (three if you include 16/34) but the non-parallel 11/29 is limited in terms of the aircraft types it can handle. Even Aer Arann, probably the biggest user of the 2nd runway, don't use it all of the time (their ATR-72s routinely land on 10/28). The two biggest engines of growth at Dublin, EI and RYR, have no aircraft that can utilise 11/29.

Very little can be done to increase runway capacity at Dublin, other than major reconstruction (extension of 10/28 plus significant taxiway reconstruction), a fact borne out by a study conducted by NATS, who operate ATC at Gatwick airport...they should know.

dowlingm

reckless

presumably 10/28 and 11/29 can't have parallel approaches at the moment so if you are going to use one or other you might as well play safe and go 10/28 unless 11/29 was handy for the allocated stand?

PhoenixRising

@Reckless

Any word on 28R/10L? It's all gone very quiet..

Wishbone Ash

therecklessone wrote:

Dublin has got two runways (three if you include 16/34)

I would have thought that 16/34 was used much more than 11/29.

therecklessone

dowlingm wrote:

reckless

presumably 10/28 and 11/29 can't have parallel approaches at the moment so if you are going to use one or other you might as well play safe and go 10/28 unless 11/29 was handy for the allocated stand?

No parallel instrument approaches, and radar seperation must be maintained except in the usual conditions for reduced seperation in vicinity of the airfield.

An Aer Arann breaking visual for 29 might allow the tower release an extra departure for example, but its difficult to build that into movement rates.

therecklessone

PhoenixRising wrote:

@Reckless

Any word on 28R/10L? It's all gone very quiet..

Going through the usual planning process I imagine, haven't heard anything significant otherwise.

secret_squirrel

You can see why the airlines wont like it though.

Their loads are obviously effected by the times of their flight - especially for business travellers who want to get somewhere in time to do a decent days work.

I would guess the main cause of the problem is passenger conjestion rather than slot/runway conjestion though, and therefore DAA will be using the slots to control the amount of passengers moving through the airport at anyone time.

Its obviously an easier (cheaper) solution for them than to sort out the layout of their facilities, without major construction work.

therecklessone

Wishbone Ash wrote:

I would have thought that 16/34 was used much more than 11/29.

In the context Ryanair were using, 11/29 is the "2nd runway"

Using crossing runways adds to the complexity of traffic management and in some cases has contributed to runway incursions.

FlutterinBantam

Wind and weather conditions would obviate the use of 16/34 and 10/28 at the same time aside from the fact that they are converging runways.

11/29 might as well not be there in the great scheme of things.

LGW has obviously more high speed taxiways to evacuate the landing traffic from the active runway faster and quicker.

therecklessone

FlutterinBantam wrote:

LGW has obviously more high speed taxiways to evacuate the landing traffic from the active runway faster and quicker.

And more holding points (and taxiway routes) for departures, allowing a more efficient integration of different aircraft types/routes.

therecklessone

secret_squirrel wrote:

I would guess the main cause of the problem is passenger conjestion rather than slot/runway conjestion though, and therefore DAA will be using the slots to control the amount of passengers moving through the airport at anyone time.

Its obviously an easier (cheaper) solution for them than to sort out the layout of their facilities, without major construction work.

I thought so too, but the Jacobs Report on which this decision was based concludes that:

despite likely localised issues in September 2007, based on the forecast for passenger demand and the developments proposed by DAA, the passenger terminal system should be able to operate at an acceptable level of service through to the opening of Terminal 2

The report identified demand for stands and runway capacity as problematic.

MadsL

Isn't Dublin one of the last airports in Europe to change over to this system?

Bluetonic

MadsL wrote:

Isn't Dublin one of the last airports in Europe to change over to this system?

I doubt it. To start with no other Irish airports are yet coordinated.

FlutterinBantam

I think he means major airports

secret_squirrel

Interesting FAQ

Only 4 uk apts slot co-ordinated. LHR, LGW, STN, MAN