[Article] Dublin Airport 'loses' a runway to park planes

Victor

I'm wondering will they build the first half of the new runway before they demolish 11/29, so as to allow maximum availibility for short runway operations.

http://home.eircom.net/content/unison/biznews/10509856?view=Eircomnet&cat=Business

Dublin Airport 'loses' a runway to park planes
From The Irish IndependentSaturday, 2nd June, 2007


DUBLIN Airport has begun using its smallest runway to park planes.

The runway usually handles 12 landings and take-offs a day, with small planes like Aer Arann's diverted to runway 11/29 to take traffic away from the crowded main runway.

But today 11/29 is a glorified car park for up to 17 large planes, while the smaller aircraft clamour for space on the main runway.

Senior aviation sources slammed the development as "daft", given the overcrowding that already dogs the main runway.

However, a spokeswoman for the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) defended the move.

"You can't just park aircraft anywhere; you have to put them on a certain concrete density and there are other factors too," she said.

"With the amount of flights coming in this summer, we needed somewhere to put these planes."

She added that runway 11/29 handles a tiny portion of Dublin Airport's 550 flights a day, and is due to be demolished when the DAA gets planning permission for the second [main] runway.

The runway has been closed since April 16 and the spokeswoman said there was "no specific date" for 11/29 to come back into service.

The development presents particular problems for Aer Arann which had been 11/29's main user. The regional carrier has seen a substantial increase in taxi times since its services were all moved to the main runway, sources said.

The DAA is in the process of building a new aircraft parking zone, known as Apron 6, which be able to accommodate seven jumbo jet size planes.

Apron 6 will be completed by next December, but the DAA spokeswoman declined to confirm whether the small runway will come back into service then.

Dublin Airport is home to three runways, a main runway, a crosswind runway, and 11/29. The airport says it needs to build a second main runway to cope with soaring numbers of flights.

This 'second runway' which forms part of the DAA's €1.8bn development plan is going through the planning process.

spacetweek

Victor wrote:

I'm wondering will they build the first half of the new runway before they demolish 11/29, so as to allow maximum availibility for short runway operations.

Any word on when T2 starts? I presume it's this year?

therecklessone

Persistent rumours that 11/29 is closed for good, which is a shame. Its indicative of the DAA's haphazard management of the airport that the report they commissioned into capacity identified runway capacity over stand and apron capacity as the major inhibitor of operations at the airport, yet they close a runway to provide aircraft parking...go figure...

There *may* be method in their madness, the cost of the upkeep of 11/29 weighed against the benefits it provides (capacity rates are not increased on a strategic basis, but can be increased tactically) is worth considering.

Also rumours recently of a rethink re. the parallel runway...the prospect of increased environmental taxes on aviation, particularly in the UK, is seen as a potential dampener on travel ex-Dublin, and may negate the need for the parallel. Just rumours mind.

dowlingm

A realigned 11/29 to 10/28 which could take short/medium haul would solve some problems.