Wake-up call for Belfast
BMI chief urges re-think on City Airport curfew
Business Telegraph
By Nigel Tilson - 06 March 2006
Northern Ireland's economy is being held back because there is no late night
flight from London's Heathrow Airport to Belfast, it was claimed today.
The gloves came off in the ongoing battle for the night-time curfew at Belfast City Airport to be relaxed when bmi chief executive officer Nigel Turner entered the fray.
The curfew at the City currently runs from 9.30pm to 6.30am.
The airline chief said Belfast needed to wake up to the fact that "the world has moved on".
"We live in a 24-hour world and there should be some dispensation for that. Belfast is not even warming up at 10 o'clock," he insisted.
Mr Turner stressed the Heathrow link was very important for Northern Ireland business in particular; the Heathrow hub is used by the vast majority of international business visitors to the province.
"Heathrow acts as a gateway to the rest of the world for Northern Ireland. In terms of attracting inward investment, the Heathrow link is very valuable."
Bmi is the sole operator on the Belfast-Heathrow route, with up to eight flights each day from Belfast City Airport and the same number from one of the world's largest airports. There are no flights between Heathrow and Belfast International.
The bmi chief said few long-haul flights coming in to Heathrow can link in to Belfast services on the same day. This means visitors often have to stay overnight in London - incurring extra expense - before continuing their journey to Northern Ireland the next day.
At present the last flight of the day into the City arrives at 9.30pm - it is operated by flybe - and the last bmi plane from Heathrow leaves at 7.45pm, arriving at around 9pm.
Mr Turner sees no reason why there could not be a 9pm flight out of Heathrow, arriving in just after 10pm.
"If someone working in central London wants to catch a flight from Heathrow to Belfast they have to leave at 6pm at the latest to make the flight. That's not ideal if you're doing business."
He said a late night flight from Heathrow would greatly increase the number
of interlinking connections with the Belfast service.
"I believe the lack of a late night flight is holding Northern Ireland back. It is not good for business," he added.
Meanwhile, the bmi CEO said he would have no objections to Belfast City being renamed after legendary soccer ace George Best.
However, he said it was important to keep Belfast as the prominent word in the airport's title à la Liverpool John Lennon Airport.
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