Best place for a new terminal/ariport?

There are massive economies of scale in the aviation industry which are particularly important in small regional airports (like Dublin airport). The reality is that there is no other location that is nearer 2/3’s of the population. If someone from Wexford wanted to get to an airport in Portarlington by train they would have to go through Dublin to do so. The same would apply for anyone from any other part of Ireland that did not live on the train line that went through Portarlington on the way to Dublin.

Satellites airports seem to work well enough in other countries. Obviously Ryanair favour the approach of having some competition. Not that I'm a fan of RA.

Travelling by train or by car I can't imagine any journey that requires you to go through Dublin and onto the airport that wouldn't be quicker by car if you didn't have to go through gridlocked Dublin. Considering that you have the overhead in time of getting to the train and waiting for it. Then switching trains and waiting again, and that trains do not always run when you want them to.
 
somewhere between Mullingar and the M50 would be ideal. That would be more central to most people.

Perhaps if the mullingar - athlone rail line was reopened and an airport constructed near Moate all you'd need is CIE to operate a proper high speed train service (like 150mph) and the sky would be the limit... Galway, Athlone, Mullingar, Dublin City Center all directly connected to a top class airport with loads of room to expand... at the relatively crap speed of 150mph, it would be...

just 26min from airport to Dublin City Center
just 27min from airport to Galway City Center
just 10min from airport to Mullingar
just 4min from airport to Athlone

Maybe now that our good friend Brian is in power we'll finally get an airport in the midlands!

PS: The official government strategy is to increase the population in the Athlone/Mullingar/Tullamore triangle to 250,000 in the medium term... surely that population justifies a small airport at very least :)

PS: Such a system would directly link smaller towns such as Maynooth, Kilcock, Enfield, Leixlip, Clonsilla, Ballinasloe, & Athenry in under 25min to the airport... along with indirect rail connections to Longford, Sligo, Roscommon, Castlebar, Tullamore, etc. in much less than 1hr...
 
I still think Portarlington/Portlaoise would be a better option when you consider DA is in North Co Dublin. Portarlington/Portlaoise would better serve the South than would Mullingar or Athlone.
 
Theres probably a need for a "london city" style mini airport in south dublin in addition to a big new airport... it should be built in south dublin... westin airport really..
 
Weston is pretty much in the suburbs now. Its too close IMO. Ok for small biz jets but not for anything bigger.
 
What is needed is a proper train service from Dublin city centre to the airport and the continuation of the upgrade to the national road network. This is a very small country with a very low population density. We should not delude ourselves that it is otherwise.

Agree with this totally. Improve the access to Dublin Airport and it is totally sufficient for this Country's needs. Also I am not sure why people say Dublin airport is landlocked with limited scope for development. The creation of Dublin Airport was an example of foreward planning that I don't think has been since as the amount of land set aside for future development was more than sufficient. They are looking to build a new city on existing airport lands so the DAA obviously don't feel that they are running out of space. Maybe the day will come when Dublin Airport can't cope with future expansion but we are a long way from that.
 
Dublin Airport does not serve the entire country - it's purpose is to serve Dublin. Therefore is does not make sense to build it in the midlands so it can be closer to people who live outside Dublin. In the days of Aer Rianta, all airports served the population as a whole. But in recent years, our Government has determined that airport authorities should not serve the entire country, so DAA mission is only to serve the Dublin area.

The 2/3 of the population who live outside the greater Dublin area have their own airports called Cork, Shannon and Knock.

Now, if you were going to build and airport that serves the entire island, the most sensible place to build it would be just off the M1 motorway as this motorway links the two principal population centres in Ireland - Dublin & Belfast. Surprise, surprise, this is where the airport is. I admit that it is closer to Dublin than the centre of population would be - is probably somewhere a little further north than the airport location, but its close enough.
 
Dublin Airport does not serve the entire country - it's purpose is to serve Dublin. .

There is life outside Dublin. Many of the people who use Dublin Airport come from / live 30 or 50 or 70 miles north-west or southwest of it, for example. In fact to catch flights to certain destinations some customers of Dublin airport have to travel there by road from the far flung corners of the west coast, for example. Nobody - but nobody who uses Dublin airport lives directly 30 or 50 or 70 miles n.e or s.e of it, as in that exact direction they would be living in the sea.
 
There is life outside Dublin.

And there are other International airports in Ireland. I'm sure if people used their local airport more often, the range of services and destinations would expand.
 
The topic isn't about moving Dublin airport. But rather than dragging the whole country through Dublin, to sit in queues on the M50/M1, or stand on the train for 2 or 3 hours. Then stand in queues in departures in Dublin, would it not make sense to distribute that traffic, from a point more equidistant (approx) to the whole country.

...Due to the phenomenal growth experienced at Dublin Airport in recent years, the facility is chronically congested.[7] 'Catch-up' has been a feature of how the authorities have been dealing with the growth in demand. One part or another of the airport has been a building site for the past two decades. Despite massive building works and extensions, it is widely accepted that the existing terminal building and infrastructure are insufficient to deal with the volume of passengers. ..

..Concerns remain that the airport's road network will become further congested until the Metro to the airport is up and running (see below) and the new road network is completed in 2011... According to the Dublin Airport Authority the new parallel runway needs to be operational by arond 2012 to ensure that the airfield at Dublin Airport continues to operate effectively and airline operations are not subjected to growing delays on arrival and departure....

...The plans for Terminal 2 were met with objections from those who argued that, once built, it could not be extended to provide any additional capacity, owing to its location. Indeed, the proposed location of T2 would reduce the capacity of T1 because airbridges and departure gates would have to be removed from Pier C to provide space for aircraft stands at T2. It is argued that a second terminal should be located between the main runway and the proposed parallel runway. This arrangement, adopted by major hub airports such as Dallas-Fort Worth and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta, would provide space for T2 to expand and provide additional capacity before a third terminal would be required. ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Airport
 
The topic isn't about moving Dublin airport. But rather than dragging the whole country through Dublin, to sit in queues on the M50/M1, or stand on the train for 2 or 3 hours. Then stand in queues in departures in Dublin, would it not make sense to distribute that traffic, from a point more equidistant (approx) to the whole country.







http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dublin_Airport

From your links it appears that there is plenty of room at Dublin airport, it just has to be used properly. It also looks like the transport infrastructure will be in place long before any new airport would be finished (and quite probably started).
Dublin may need a second airport but it is a small city so I really don't see a strong case for one.
As for grip-lock etc; there is much exaggeration about M50 delays etc.
 
The topic isn't about moving Dublin airport. But rather than dragging the whole country through Dublin, to sit in queues on the M50/M1, or stand on the train for 2 or 3 hours. Then stand in queues in departures in Dublin, would it not make sense to distribute that traffic, from a point more equidistant (approx) to the whole country.


But every country is the same for the majority of international flights. Look at France. Most people still have to go through Paris. In Italy, they have to go through Rome. Germany, through Frankfurt. Spain, through Madrid. It makes much more sense to improve the links between Dublin airport and the rest of the country through the better use of regional airports, better road network and direct rail link between Dublin airport, Dublin city and the mainline rail stations at Heuston and Connolly. There is no way an airport in the middle of the country would attract sufficient business if it had to compete with the exisiting Dublin airport.
 
From your links it appears that there is plenty of room at Dublin airport, it just has to be used properly. It also looks like the transport infrastructure will be in place long before any new airport would be finished (and quite probably started).
Dublin may need a second airport but it is a small city so I really don't see a strong case for one.
As for grip-lock etc; there is much exaggeration about M50 delays etc.

Then I either cross over the M50 every day or a very long skinny carpark.

It was just a thought, when you hear people of travelling up to Dublin to get a flight, or people in Dublin complaining about the queues to get to, and in Dublin Airport. Also if theres a demand for a new runway, new terminal, that seems to suggest the demand is there.
 
The biggest benefit of a new airport would be that it would provide much-needed competition for the current monopoly.
 
there is a fast rail link in the offing for Dublin airport from city centre, putting a terminal in the sticks outside dublin would not get anyone to the airport any quicker....if you live in a rural area you can't complain that you aren't close to an international airport - its the same in every country
 
there is a fast rail link in the offing for Dublin airport from city centre, putting a terminal in the sticks outside dublin would not get anyone to the airport any quicker....if you live in a rural area you can't complain that you aren't close to an international airport - its the same in every country

I can fly to Prestwick airport and be in Glasgow city centre in 45 mins on a train. The journey is quick and cheap. This isn't possible with Dublin.

I don't think anyone is complaining about not being close to an airport. I think the point people are making is that Dublin airport is a bloody mess, it appears to be poorly run (very poorly if compared to Singapore or Hong Kong airports - also small trading countries there) and does it make more sense to pour money into this airport, or build another one on a greenfield site beside an already existing rail line and close to a motorway?
 
I can fly to Prestwick airport and be in Glasgow city centre in 45 mins on a train. The journey is quick and cheap. This isn't possible with Dublin.

I don't think anyone is complaining about not being close to an airport. I think the point people are making is that Dublin airport is a bloody mess, it appears to be poorly run (very poorly if compared to Singapore or Hong Kong airports - also small trading countries there) and does it make more sense to pour money into this airport, or build another one on a greenfield site beside an already existing rail line and close to a motorway?

hong kong & singapore are small trading countries?:confused: they're not even close!

there will be a quick and cheap rail service with a new terminal at dublin sooner than another one will realistically be built elsewhere - can't see the point of a debtate
 
hong kong & singapore are small trading countries?:confused: they're not even close!

there will be a quick and cheap rail service with a new terminal at dublin sooner than another one will realistically be built elsewhere - can't see the point of a debtate

RyanAir said they'd pay a new one. I wonder will the Govt be able to pay for the metro... We might be waiting.

Consider the Tunnel
 
RyanAir said they'd pay a new one. I wonder will the Govt be able to pay for the metro... We might be waiting.

Consider the Tunnel

if ryanair pay for anything, it will be a shed in a field - not an airport with world class transport links
 
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