Hundreds of new parking spaces could be built at Aberdeen International Airport to cope with an expected surge in passengers.
Passenger numbers plummeted by two-thirds to about a million in 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, with only oil and gas workers preventing an even steeper decline.
AGS Airports, which also runs Southampton and Glasgow sites, is hoping passenger numbers will be soaring by 2040.
And to accommodate that, proposals for a new 274-space car park on land between Dyce Avenue and Thistle Road have now been tabled with Aberdeen City Council by applicants The Hub (NW) Limited.
Airport in numbers
- Passenger figures peaked at 3,723,000 in 2014.
- This dipped amid the oil downturn, falling below three million.
- Passenger numbers collapsed during 2020, reaching about a million.
- The airport has a target of increasing the figures by 3% every year.
- The owners are ultimately aiming for five million yearly passengers by 2040.
Around 85 people are directly employed there, but Aberdeen International Airport supports more than 3,400 jobs in the aviation sector.
Recent efforts to future-proof it include a £124 million extension to the main runway, and £20 million terminal improvements.
New Aberdeen airport car park needed to cope with demand
Going by figures from 2018 around 45% of people travel there by private car.
Of those, 8% park at the Dyce facility before taking flight, leaving their vehicle there for an average time of a week.
If numbers surge to 4.5 million passengers every year, then that will mean 986 people parking there every day.
According to documents lodged it is estimated there will eventually be a need for 6,902 parking spaces.
The long-stay car park at present has 1,007 spaces while its short stay equivalent has 1,247.
And that 2,254 total represents a “significant shortfall”.
Other plans are already in the works for a 462-space car park on unused land at the nearby ABZ Business Park.
Would we need a new Aberdeen airport car park if more people use public transport?
Papers submitted to Aberdeen City Council say the shift towards public transport is not happening at a sufficient rate.
The document states: “If passengers move towards more sustainable forms of transport, e.g. by bus, there would need to be a shift of 4,186 passengers to sustainable travel modes per week – which would be difficult.
“The car parking demand analysis shows that there could be a requirement for 6,902 car parking spaces.”
The documents add the new car park would provide 14 electric charging points and 12 disabled spaces.
Will airport be able to recover from the pandemic?
Managing director at the time, Steve Szalay, last year told us that Aberdeen International Airport’s oil and gas links would help it bounce back.
He said: âThe difference between Aberdeen and other areas is that we are predominantly a business airport.
“In normal times I see that as a bad thing â I want more holiday destinations…
“But in terms of recovery, this could make a huge difference when airlines are wondering where to put their aircraft.”
In September, flights to Newcastle resumed and Easyjet’s Aberdeen-Manchester route was reinstated in July.
You can see the planning application for the car park here.
A previous version of this story wrongly suggested that it was the operator of Aberdeen Airport which had made the application. It was amended on the day of publication to correct this mistake.