Blackpool airport to open new terminal facilities
01.03.06
Blackpool Airport is celebrating the launch of its new multi-million pound passenger terminal. Guests and VIPs from across the North West have been invited to check-in on March 9th 2006 to commemorate a major milestone in the airport's rapid growth and development.
Guest of Honour Bill Beaumont OBE, former England rugby captain, will officially open the new facilities alongside Paul Whelan, Executive Chairman of City Hopper Airports Ltd.
The £2m refurbishment has transformed the airport and means exciting new facilities and services for passengers flying to and from more than 20 European destinations. A new internal design and layout gives the airport the capacity to handle two million passengers a year, and 14 new check-in desks and extra baggage reclaim facilities allow passengers to pass through more quickly and conveniently than ever before.
New landside (pre security) facilities at Blackpool airport include:
- A 14 desk check-in concourse area
- Sophisticated baggage handling system with the latest security technology
- Currency Exchange
- Airline ticket desks
- New retail opportunities
- A new Meeting and Arrivals area featuring Max Bean's Café and Bar, Games Grid, Hertz Car Hire and Airport / Gateway Tourist Information Desk
- New long stay airport parking
New airside (after security) facilities include:
- New open plan, non-smoking Departure Lounge with seating for up to 600 passengers
- Four extra Departure Gates, making a total of six
- New Tax and Duty Free Shopping
- Max Bean's Café and Bar, and newsagent
- New Airport Lounge
- Dedicated smoking room facilities
- Conference Facilities
- Games Grid
- 6,000 square foot extension for new baggage reclaim facilities, Customs, Passport Control and Currency Exchange
Since City Hopper Airports took over the running of the airport in July 2004, passenger numbers have increased by 100 percent, and this year around 750,000 people are expected to pass through the terminal. The company has also attracted a number of major airlines to operate from the airport for the very first time.
Low cost airline Jet2 is operating scheduled flights to Belfast International, Palma, Tenerife, Murcia and Alicante, and from April 2006 will become the first airline to base aircraft at the airport. Other major airlines operating scheduled flights from Blackpool include Ryanair to Dublin, London and Gerona Barcelona, and Monarch Scheduled to Malaga.
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