Aberdeen Airport added ‘international’ to its title last year, but it is struggling to cope with the load as more passengers than ever flood to the Granite City. Can the biggest investment since the current terminal was built in the 1970s help it live up to its new name? Ryan Crighton investigates
Picture the scene. You have just flown into Aberdeen International Airport after a busy day of meetings abroad. It is already 8pm and you are tired. Just as you stand up to grab your bag from above your head, the pilot announces that another international flight arrived just ahead of you, so you are going to have to stay where you are. Why? Because the international arrivals lounge can only handle one flight at a time.
After eventually getting into the terminal and collecting your luggage, you head out to grab a taxi into the city centre, only to be greeted by a huge taxi queue like the one pictured on the facing page.
If first impressions do in fact last a lifetime – then what is this doing to the city’s reputation?
Carol Benzie, who took over the running of the airport last year, admits it is not the best welcome to Europe’s energy capital.
In fact, at peak times, she says she would score the service on offer at the Dyce terminal as “five out of 10”.
Perhaps even more surprisingly, she freely admits that the airport – part of the Heathrow Airport Holdings consortium – may be better off under different ownership.
“Ownership talks happen at a level way above me,” she said.
“There is very little I can tell you, other than that if the opportunity came along for the airport to be sold, I think that would be a good thing for Aberdeen.”
Two rival bidders are currently interested in buying the airport.
A consortium made up of Zurich Airport, investment firm Partners Group and the North East Scotland Pension Fund is believed to be the front runner.
However, there is also an £800million offer on the table for Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton Airports from Spanish infrastructure giant Ferrovial.
Partners in Heathrow – Britannia Airport Partners, Singapore’s GIC, Qatar Holding and Alinda Capital Partners – are looking to focus on Britain’s busiest airport and divest the holding’s other airports.
Ms Benzie added: “The synergies between an airport the size of Heathrow and one the size of Aberdeen are just not there.
“As long as whoever owns us is willing to invest in the airport, I’ll be happy.”
It is a candid answer from a woman who has fought hard to win £15million worth of investment for the terminal she grew up just 12 miles from.
“Getting the funding approved for the terminal extension was a major coup for me,” she said.
“That was my major priority when I became managing director last year.”
The airport has seen record growth since she took the hot seat – but is becoming a victim of its own success.
“At off peak times, I reckon the experience is probably an eight out of 10, but at peak times it suffers and can drop to five out of 10,” she said.
“The airport has seen more than 24% growth over the past three years, and many points that the passenger touches are now congested.
“The key ones that we are getting feedback on are the security and central search area, international arrivals and the UK Border Force area.
“But there are various other things, such as lack of seating, our catering and things like that.
“We have listened to all that, and we have spent the last few years drawing up a business plan to extend the terminal.
“There will be a two storey extension. We are going to move our two executive lounges to an upstairs lounge with views over the runway.
“And both lounges will be double their current size. The UK Border Force will move into the ground floor of the extension and we will be accommodating two international reclaim belts in there as well.
“We are then going to move lock, stock and barrel the central search area into a space where the British Airways lounge is currently. That again will be double the size and it will have more technology.
“We are also going to redevelop all the commercial space, refit all the catering units, etc. Duty free will also be improved to get more brands into the airport.
“The flow for the passenger will be improved, the amount of space for passengers will be improved and the whole experience will be improved.”
She added: “When we have a big international flight coming in, our friends at UK Border Force tend to try to keep the hall clear for one flight at a time. So there have been instances of people having to be held on aircraft while they do that.
“But this upgrade will address all of that.
“It is going to take time – so trying to do this in a 24-hour operation isn’t going to be without its problems – but the end result is going to be fantastic for passengers.
“It is the biggest investment the airport will have seen since the terminal was built. We are only going to get one crack at this – so we need to get it right.”
While the airport is trying to remedy its problems inside, there are issues outwith its control.
Passengers have been complaining about having to wait up to an hour for taxis.
The airport also still suffers from huge traffic problems on the roads around it – a problem they hope the long-awaited AWPR will fix.
Ms Benzie said: “There is a real dearth of taxi drivers available in the Aberdeen area.
“We have a contract with ComCabs at the moment and they commit to giving us a certain amount of drivers every month. But we don’t control how they operate.
“We have been to taxi meetings, we have put a case to the local authorities about speeding up the licensing process, but it is not our domain.
“It is not a great welcome to Aberdeen with the roads situation.
“But we know there are plans to make it better, so we just need to be patient.”