Belfast
International Airport
Belfast
International Airport (IATA: BFS, ICAO: EGAA) is an
Airport located 11.5 NM (21.3 km; 13.2 mi)[1] northwest
of Belfast in Northern Ireland. It is also known as
Aldergrove, after the village of that name lying immediately
to the west of the airport. Belfast International shares
its runways with the Royal Air Force base RAF Aldergrove,
which otherwise has its own facilities.
Nearly
5.3 million passengers (2.2% of passengers at all UK
Airports) travelled through the airport in 2007, a 1.7
million (47.4%) increase since 2002. Belfast International
is the 2nd busiest airport in Ireland in terms of passenger
numbers, after Dublin Airport and it is the busiest
Airport in the province of Ulster. It is the larger
of two airports in Belfast (the other being George Best
Belfast City Airport). There are 48 scheduled destinations
served from the airport, with 16 domestic services and
32 European and transatlantic services. Transatlantic
flights include Newark, Orlando, and Toronto. There
are charter and inclusive tour flights to Africa, Canada,
the Caribbean, Mexico, the USA and many European destinations.
The
Airport is a hub for easyJet and Jet2.com, with other
airlines including bmibaby, First Choice Airways and
Thomas Cook Airlines also having a large presence. In
December 2007, Aer Lingus opened a base at the airport,
operating to four destinations as of January 2008 increasing
to fourteen as of November 2008.
The
Airport is owned by TBI plc, the same company which
owns London Luton Airport, Cardiff International Airport
and Orlando Sanford International Airport, as well as
Airports in Bolivia and Sweden.
Belfast
International has a CAA Public Use Aerodrome Licence
(Number P798) that allows flights for the public transport
of passengers or for flying instruction.
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