Prestwick Airport expansion plan includes worlds biggest plane
10.11.05
Prestwick airport announced expansion plans today, which could include it being the only airport in Scotland to be able to take the new Airbus A380 super-jumbo. The multi-million pound plan to double the size of the departure lounge is being drawn up, with passenger figures set to leap by 100 percent.
Prestwick has pledged to be ready and willing to handle the Airbus A380 double decker, which can carry up to 840 people. A feasibility study is underway and although it's not purely with the giant plane in mind, bosses admitted: 'We hope to see flights in the fullness of time. Prestwick is the only major Scottish airport capable of handling this aircraft.'
Prestwick, which employs 495 people, will deal with 2.5 million passengers this year and has a capacity for three million. But with numbers predicted to rocket past five million in a decade, action is being planned now to cope with the addition passenger.
Architects are already looking at the massive reconstruction which will take 18 months to complete. This could include a state-of-the-art two storey building to replace the current departure and arrivals hall. One floor would be used for departures and another for arrivals in a bid to ease the flow of passengers.
It is also thought the amount of parking stands for planes will double from 6 to 12, to cope with the rise in passengers. The predicted passenger boom would have an impact on all transport issues such as airport parking, car rental, buses and trains. But they have pledged to address all these areas.
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