Stansted Airport plans for £600 million revamp

Stansted Airport plans to spend £600 million on revamping the airport facilities over the next five years.

There’ll be a new arrivals terminal, a re-vamp of the existing terminal, upgrades to the baggage system and more car parking spaces.

The news comes as as the airport saw more than 2.7 million passengers travel through last month.

That’s up almost 7 and a half percent on the previous year, despite problems with airline industrial action, ongoing weather disruption and air traffic challenges.

Source: ITV News

Tamale Airport to operate first MRO facility in West Africa

Upon completion, the Tamale International Airport is expected to become the only Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility that will provide aircraft maintenance activities in Ghana and West Africa.
This means that the airport will be mandated to repair and maintain aircraft such as jets and helicopters, including boeing and other commercial flights.
The outgoing Minister of Aviation, Ms Cecilia Dapaah, disclosed this when she met with Parliament’s Committee on Finance to discuss the loan agreement between the Government of Ghana and KFW IPEX-Bank GMBH for an amount of $80 million meant for the design and construction of the second phase of the Tamale International Airport.
The facility is expected to be operated by Kenpong Aircraft Maintenance Ghana Limited (KAMGL), a subsidiary of the Kenpong Group of Companies who recently secured the MRO licence and a hangar at the Tamale Airport.

This will make the KAMGL the third facility of its kind in Africa with similar MROs in Ethiopia and South Africa.

Background
The Government of Ghana, acting through the Ghana Airport Company Limited (GACL), intends to upgrade the Tamale Airport to be able to handle international operations.

As a strategic decision by GACL, the Tamale Airport is proposed to be an alternative to the Kotoka International Airport in Accra.

In particular, the government intends to use the airport to support the programme of the Northern Development Authority (NDA) of Ghana, as well as use the airport as a base for seasonal direct Hajj flights between Ghana and Mecca in Saudi Arabia.

Contract
The GACL signed a contract with QG Construction Limited for the upgrade and extension of the existing runway and associated facilities to accommodate large wide-bodied jet aircraft.

The phase one of the project was completed in August 2016. It included the preparation of the master plan and environmental and society impact assessment to cover the whole scope.

In addition, the project rehabilitated and extended the existing runway from 2,438m up to 3,400 length, extended and strengthened the existing runway pavement, rehabilitated the existing taxiway and taxi-links and the apron extension.

Second phase
The second phase of the project will include the construction of a modern international airport terminal, a Hajj facility and development of a modern infrastructure for all aviation and relevant non-aviation facilities.

It will cover the development of a passenger main terminal, access and secondary roads, water, power and sewerage infrastructure.

Expected benefits

The development of the airport is expected to promote domestic air travel and provide the national spokes to open up the enormous potential growth of traffic in domestic and regional routes.

It is also expected to boost eco-tourism and cultural tourism by facilitating domestic and international travel for the exploration of the national historic heritage sites and the development of eco-tourism and cultural tourism of the savannah zone of the country.

Source: Joy OnLine

Lebanese MP calls for expansion of Beirut airport

Member of Lebanese Parliament Nazih Najm reiterated Tuesday the need to expand Rafic Hariri International Airport (RHIA) and update its equipment, local media reported.

«We need to expand the airport in a way that would increase its capacity to host 8 million passengers per year in addition to renewing its cooling systems, toilets, power generators and buying new baggage conveyers,» he was quoted by Elnashra, an independent online newspaper, as saying.

Earlier this year, Lebanese Finance Ministry approved 18 million U.S. dollars in funding for the expansion of the RHIA.

The funding came after a steady increase in passenger number in the airport since 2008, according to a study released by the airport’s Research and Studies Department in March 2018.

The study predicted that as many as 10 million passengers would travel via the airport by 2020.

Meanwhile, manager of the airport Fadi El Hassan said that the airport has the capacity of hosting only 6 million passengers annually which needs expansion especially after the flow of a big number of Syrian refugees to Lebanon.

«Around 2 million Syrians use the airport annually,» he said.

Source: Xinxuanet

Governor Cuomo Announces $92 Million to modernize Albany International Airport

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today awarded $22.1 million in funding to AlbanyInternationalAirport as part of a $42.1 million project to modernize the facility.

AlbanyInternationalAirport’s main terminal was built in 1962 and underwent its last significant renovation in 1998. About 1.4 million people a year board planes at the airport, which has an outdated appearance and limited parking. The airport redesign includes:

 

  • New Parking Garage — The project will construct a 1,000-unit, multi-level parking garage, expanding airport parking capacity by 20 percent. The pre-cast concrete garage will provide a heated pedestrian walkway to the airport terminal. Energy-efficient LED lights will illuminate that bridge, enhancing visibility as well as vehicular and pedestrian safety.
  • Parking Access Improvements — The project will install new LED electronic signage, car counting devices, and interactive access control devices that utilize advanced GPS technology to locate available parking spaces and provide wayfinding messages that direct motorists to them. The existing parking system is nearly 20 years old and its electronic controls are in disrepair.
  • Terminal Rehabilitation and Passenger Amenities – The project will rehabilitate the terminal, including escalators, restrooms, waiting rooms and the food court.  Improvements will include new carpets, wall finishes, tile floors, energy-efficient lighting fixtures and better Internet connectivity.