Dublin Airport has the distinction of being Irelands busiest airport, as well as one of Europe’s top ten destinations. Staff look after over 60,000 passengers every day and as many as 80,000 during peak periods. Dublin Airport services and maintains over 600 planes daily for 63 different airlines and offers 190 routes from its runways.

The airport was opened in 1940 and is located some 6.2 miles north of Dublin City and built on the site of an old abandoned First World War aerodrome. During its early years Dublin Airport did not see much use due to WWII with the occasional flights between Liverpool and Manchester but the 1950’s saw a complete turn around with a new award winning terminal building and increased traffic.

New terminals and wider runways also saw an increase in passenger numbers through Dublin Airport in the 70’s and 80’s while the growth of business opportunities in the 90’s and 2000’s saw even more visitors using the airport. This was especially true of migrant workers from Eastern Europe and business travellers from the US.

Dublin and Shannon airport are the only two airports outside of North America that have pre-screening facilities, enabling passengers to clear customs quicker upon arrival in the US by having paperwork checked in Ireland first.

Location

The airport is just off the main M1 and M50 motorways providing quick and efficient road links into Dublin City. The public service buses operate a regular and cheap service into town and coach services on to Belfast, Cork, Wexford, Sligo etc all operate from the airport. There is also a bus service to the two nearest railway stations at Connolly and Heuston with plans for a new metro service to link the airport to the town centre with an 18-minute trip.

Car Parking at Dublin Airport

There are more than 22,000 car parking spaces at the airport offering both long and short stay provision and a fleet of shuttle buses operate to transfer passengers from their vehicles to and from the main terminals.

Airport Facilities

The main shopping facilities at Dublin Airport are contained in The Loop where there is an extensive range of high street outlets and designer stores. There are also a wide range of bars and restaurants where travellers can eat or drink. VIP passengers can make use of the executive lounges in both terminals for up to three hours before departure.

Accommodation at Dublin Airport

One of the most luxurious accommodations available at the Airport is the Radisson Blu Hotel Dublin Airport. They have a great departure lounge all of their own and are only minutes away from the main terminals. The hotel has 229 stunning rooms available, all fully internet connected and ideal for business travellers who can visit the popular O’Dea’s Irish Bar or Breakfast Room and pick up a sumptuous lunch or quick snack while you wait to board your flight.

Radisson Blu currently have three hotels in Dublin. In addition to the Airport hotel they operate the newly built Royal Hotel in the heart of the city and the AA  5 star St Helens Hotel, Dublin,  built in 1750 and  is one of the finest hotels in Dublin & was formerly one of Ireland’s most important historic houses. Set in formal gardens, the hotel has been meticulously restored & adapted to provide luxury accommodation for business & leisure guests.

Flights

Dublin Airport is an international airport with its top destinations being London’s five airports, the two airports of Paris and two in New York. Manchester and Birmingham are also favoured destinations, with Frankfurt, Malaga and Amsterdam all proving to be popular European flights. The top ten favourite places to travel from Dublin are completed with journeys to and from Edinburgh and Madrid.

The UK is the commonest destination with over 70 flights daily crossing the Irish Sea to the cities of England, Scotland and Wales. As well as New York, Dublin also serves Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

The most recent news to come from Etihad Airways is its joining with airberlin, another leading airline.

The joining of the two airlines has opened up new routes for both. As Etihad Airways is situated in the UEA, in Abu Dhabi, flights to parts of Europe such as flights to Germany are now more accessible through airberlin.

The mergeralso means a sharing of Frequent Flyer programs and codeshares. Air miles gained on Etihad Airways or airberlin can be used on either airlines.

airberlin’s inaugural flight to Abu Dhabi happened this morning, with the aeroplane being greeted with the tradition water cannons as it crossed the runway.

Initially Shannon catered for transatlantic flying boats in the Shannon Estuary but as aviation improved it was realised an airport would be needed to welcome flights from across the Atlantic. The boggy landscape around the estuary was drained and by 1945 the first flights from New York were arriving, it was also here that the worlds first duty free zone was created, which set the trend for airports around the world.

Shannon’s most popular destinations are to London Heathrow, Stansted, Newark, Gatwick and New York JFK airports and emphasises the importance it has within transatlantic traffic. The Republic of Irelands military neutrality and non-membership of NATO has also made it a stop over airport for both the American and Soviet Union troops but under strict regulations.

Location

Shannon Airport is at the terminus of the N19 duel carriageway, this connects with the towns of Limerick, Ennis and Galway on the N18/M18 motorway. The airport is also well served by taxi and coach companies, linking it to the main urban areas nearby and all the local attractions.

Car Parking

The car parking facilities at Shannon Airport can cater for over 5,000 vehicles.  It is also open 24-hours a day and patrolled by the Airport Police.

Facilities

• The Loop provides a great range of shopping opportunities from foodstuffs, drink, and travel essentials to luxury goods.
• Tourist Information Centre
• 24-hour departure lounge
• Executive lounge with complimentary refreshments and shower facilities.
• Free WiFi service
• Small Oratory, offering Roman Catholic Mass on Sundays.

Accommodation

The Park Inn Hotel  is right on the doorstep for Shannon Airport and has 114 superb rooms for its guests, whether you are exploring western Ireland or just stopping over. The bar and restaurant serve delicious food and there is a gym and health club on site, along with conference rooms and business services.

Guests staying at the Radisson Park Inn will find a whole host of attractions within easy reach of their hotel room. There are such delights as the Bunratty Castle, Folk Park and Ballycasey Craft & Design Centre.

The Radisson Blu Hotel, Limerick also offers first-class accommodation near Shannon Airport and the heart of the thriving city centre.

Flights

Flights out of Shannon travel to many of the main cities on the British mainland including Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Edinburgh and the London airports of Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted.  They also link with European destinations such as Malaga, Nantes, Tenerife, Wroclaw and Palma. Their speciality, however, has always been transatlantic flight and they still have regular services to Toronto, New York, Newark and Boston. British Airways operates a twice-daily business class flight to New York, flying from London Docklands, they land at Shannon to refuel and make use of the airports special status with its US Customs and Border Protection facility that makes clearing immigration in America faster.

Now known as Manchester Airport it has two runways, three terminals and is supported by a comprehensive road network and railway station. Terminals 1 & 2 are joined by the Skylink travelator, with terminal 1 & 3 linked by a covered concourse. The Skylink is also connected to the railway station and the Radisson Blu Hotel.

The airport has a World Freight Terminal where carriers can make use of the 550,000 sq ft storage area, with chiller units and office space. There are also three airways that have maintenance hangers here.

The most popular destinations from Manchester Airport are Tenerife, Dubai, Dalaman, Dublin and Mallorca, all handling over 500,000 passengers per year.

Location
Manchester Airport is south of the city and still very much in a rural setting; it is reached by road from a dedicated exit on the M56 Motorway at junction 5. The Manchester Airport Railway Station is connected to Manchester Piccadilly, while there are also plans for a tramline to link the airport to the city centre, which is due to open in 2016.

Car Parking
There is a “No Waiting” restriction on all roads surrounding the Manchester Airport, but its three terminals all offer long and short stay options; there is also a shuttle service every 15 minutes and VIP Valet parking from which to choose.

Facilities
• Airport shopping, with a large range of designer and boutique stores as well as some well-known high street names.
• WiFi Hotspots with free 30-minute access.
• Lounge and bars, including the premium Escape Lounges and executive business and VIP lounges.
• Shower and change facilities in the directly connected hotel
• Multi Faith Prayer Rooms
• Aviation Viewing Park for aircraft spotting enthusiasts with its own café and shop.

Accommodation
The area between terminals 1 & 2 is known as the “Station”, for obvious reasons as the railway is located here and this is where the Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport is also situated. Linked by the covered Skylink travelator to the terminals the hotel represents the ideal place to stay before early morning flights or after landing late in the evening.

The hotel has 360 comfortable Nordic and Rural themed rooms, along with its own bars, restaurant and health spa facilities including a swimming pool. Guests can also avail themselves of the hotels long and short-term parking when staying at the hotel.

Flights
Flights from Manchester go to 190 destinations using 65 different tour operators, predominantly to European destinations. However, there are a number of scheduled carriers that travel to the United States and Canada, the Caribbean. India and Pakistan and Singapore. There are several flights to North Africa including Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya and Egypt and also the Middle East such as Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Europe is the most accessible destination from Manchester Airport with regular journeys possible to almost every country, with Germany, France and Italy having particularly good coverage.

Originally an RAF base, which was decommissioned after the Second World War in 1946.  It was only when a business consortium bought the land that it was opened for business as a commercial airport in 1965. They have also worked hard developing their cargo side of the business and are now the second most popular freight destination in the UK, after Heathrow. The Royal Mail, DHL and UPS are all big investors in the facilities at the airport.

The top destinations from the East Midlands Airport are the Mediterranean, sunshine resorts of Malaga, Mallorca, Alicante as well as Dublin and Tenerife off the North African coastline. They are the 12^th busiest UK airport and at their peak in 2008 saw 5.6 million travellers come through their doors.

One of the main visitor attractions at the airport is the Aeropark Museum where you can get up close to a number of static displays and also get great access to viewing platforms so that enthusiasts are able to watch planes landing and taking off.

Location

The East Midlands Airport is located at Castle Donnington with the cities of Derby, Leicester and Nottingham all within easy reach. It sits close to the junctions of the M1 and M42/A42 motorways. The new Parkway railway station also services the airport but the regular shuttle service connecting to the main terminal has ceased and travellers must book a taxi. A number of coach services operate from the main railway stations in the urban centres of Derby, Leicester and Nottingham, all linking with the airport.

Airport Car Parking

The East Midlands Airport has both short and long stay car parking, there are also a number of shuttle car parking options near the airport offering drop offs at the main terminal. The airport has a VIP “Meet and greet service”, simply park up in the short stay car park and their professional staff will take care of your car.

Airport Facilities

• There are a great selection of high street shopping chains and specialist luxury goods and boutique stores.
• Bars, lounges and cafés, including business, first class VIP lounges with writing desks, Internet access and complimentary drinks.
• Free WiFi connection is available throughout the airport.

Accommodation Near to East Midland Airport

The newly opened Radisson Blu Hotel at East Midlands Airport provides an excellent location, just minutes from the main terminal with fantastic service for guests. They have 216 well-designed, comfortable rooms, with Internet connection and first class facilities. There is a health club, with sauna and steam room, while the Runway Brassiere serves up a varied international menu for hungry visitors.

In addition, Radisson Blu Hotel East Midlands Airport is setting environmental standards for new hotel builds across Europe. Boasting an Energy Performance Certification rating of 2, the hotel is the most efficient in Rezidor’s European portfolio of over 400 hotels. Designed to the highest green credentials, it carbon neutral build supports East Midlands Airport’s aspiration for its ground operations to be carbon neutral by 2012.

Flights from East Midlands

The centrally located East Midlands Airport serves most major locations around Europe and the North African countries of Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt. They also operate flights to the eastern seaboard of the United States, landing at New York and Orlando, along with several Caribbean destinations.

Within the UK, East Midlands connects to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Belfast, Newquay and the Channel Islands.

The airport has three runways and three terminals, and is used for both domestic and international flights. Terminal 1  is used by more than 35 airlines operating international flights to Sydney. It has an observation deck, a range of shops and food outlets, ATMs, internet kiosks, a medical centre, a prayer room and even a cinema for children.

Terminal 2 is used for domestic and regional flights, and has food outlets, shops, ATMs, internet kiosks and a pharmacy. Terminal 3 is used by the Australian airline Qantas for its domestic flights.

Sydney Airport is about half an hour’s drive from the Central Business District and you can rent a car at Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. Alternatively, there are taxi ranks outside of each of the terminals, and several bus companies operate services to and from the airport.

If you would prefer to travel from the airport by train, you can use the Airport Link service, which runs to and from the centre of Sydney. The journey takes about 13 minutes and you can catch a train at either the International station, which is situated at the north end of Terminal 1, or the Domestic station, which is situated between Terminal 2 and Terminal 3.

Dubai International Airport has two runways, three passenger terminals and two concourses, and is used for both domestic and international flights. A fourth terminal and a third concourse are also being planned. Many international airlines operate flights to Dubai.

Terminal 1 is mainly used for international flights. It’s linked to Concourse 1, where you’ll find a range of shops and restaurants, and the 5-star Dubai International Hotel. There are also business lounges, a health club and a children’s play area in Concourse 1.

Terminal 2 is mainly used for domestic flights and flights to other destinations within the Persian Gulf area, whilst Terminal 3 is used exclusively by Emirates. Terminal 3 is connected to Concourse 2, which is again purely for Emirates passengers, and includes restaurants, lounges and shops.

There are taxi ranks outside of each of the terminals. Shuttle buses operate to and from the airport to a number of hotels and you can also catch a bus to the centre of Dubai. There are both long-stay and short-stay car parks at the airport.

All of the terminals are used for both international flights and domestic flights, although Terminal 2 was initially designed to act as a hub for Air France and the airline still operates its flights from there, whilst Terminal 3 is used primarily for charter flights and by low-cost airlines. Facilities at each terminal include a range of shops and food outlets, play areas for children and internet terminals.

You can get to and from Paris easily by train, bus or coach, and you can also take a shuttle bus from the airport to the Disneyland Paris resort. There are taxi ranks outside of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and there are also car parks at each of the terminals.

The airport has two runways and five terminals (although Terminal 2 is currently closed). There are also plans to build a third runway and a sixth terminal.

Terminal 1 is primarily used for domestic flights and by BMI, although some European flights and long-haul flights also operate from there.The terminal has a business lounge, cash machines, baby changing facilities, an airport information desk, Internet terminals, and a range of shops, restaurants and cafes.

Terminal 2, which was primarily used for European flights, closed in November 2009 and is being replaced with a new building, which is scheduled to open in 2014.

Terminals 3 and 4 are mainly used for long-haul flights. Both terminals have  cash machines, information desks, Internet terminals and a range of restaurants and shops. Terminal 3 also has a Kids Club lounge and a business lounge, whilst Terminal 4‘s 4Deck Lounge includes a family lounge, a business area and a sports lounge.

Terminal 5, which opened in 2008, is used by British Airways for all of its flights to and from London Heathrow. You’ll find a wide range of shops and restaurants within the terminal, including Gordon Ramsay’s Plane Food.

London Heathrow Airport is easy to get to from the centre of London. If you’re driving to the airport, you’ll find both short stay and long stay car parks there.

Heathrow Express trains operate between London Heathrow Airport and London Paddington Station, and run every 15 minutes, whilst the Heathrow Connect service to London Paddington runs every 30 minutes and also stops at the following London stations: Hayes & Harlington; Southall; Hanwell; West Ealing; and Ealing Broadway. Alternatively, you can use the London Underground (Picadilly Line) to get to and from the airport.

There are shuttle buses between the airport and nearby hotels, and a number of bus and coach operators provide services beween London Heathrow Airport and London and other destinations throughout the U.K. There are also taxi ranks at the airport.

Each terminal has shops, cafes and other food outlets, together with airport lounges, baby changing facilities, wireless hot-spots and internet kiosks. Terminals 2 and 3 also have multi-faith prayer rooms.

If you are departing from Manchester and want to leave your car at the airport, you’ll find two long-stay car parks there, one of which serves Terminals 1 and 3 and one of which serves Terminal 2. There are also two short-stay car parks at the airport.

If you are arriving at Manchester Airport, you can book a hire car and pick it up when you land. The airport also has its own integrated transport hub, known as The Station, and you can catch a train or bus to the centre of Manchester or to another destination from here.

The Manchester Airport complex includes a hotel, the Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport, which is situated between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2. It has 360 rooms, including standard rooms, business class rooms and suites, and also has a restaurant, a brasserie and a bar. Other facilities at the Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport include a beauty lounge and a health club with an indoor swimming pool.

The complex also includes Manchester Airport’s Aviation Viewing Park, which features three viewing mounds from which you can watch the planes take off and land, and a collection of four historic planes: the front section of a Monarch Airlines DC-10; a restored BEA Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B; the Avro RJX; and Concorde G-BOAC (also known as Alpha Charlie), the second plane in the British Airways’ supersonic Concorde fleet. The Aviation Viewing Park also has an aviation shop and a restaurant.

Manchester Airport is only about 20 minutes’ drive from the centre of Manchester.