The first phase of a £100m redevelopment at Belfast International Airport has opened a £25m investment to improve facilities.
New security measures will enable passengers to keep liquids and electronics in hand luggage due to advanced scanners.
It is the latest phase of a transformation project which began two years ago with dedicated efforts to enhance the passenger experience. Part of a £100m, five-year investment programme, the new terminal includes a state-of-the-art security hall and duty-free experience in addition to enhancements to the arrivals area.
The new security hall has been purpose built for growth to ensure the area can adapt with passenger demand and features state of the art Next Generation Security Equipment meaning passengers no longer have to move liquids or electronics from hand luggage making for amore seamless transition through the security process – the wide open space provides passengers with a more relaxed experience.
Externally a new forecourt area has been created with the building design taking inspiration from the design of the original terminal completed in 1963. The most notable feature of this building was the angular roof construction, and this is still prevalent today, both externally and internally.
Reminiscent of an aircraft wing’, this formed the inspiration for the design of the new extension, generating a new façade with a similar angular wing effect reflecting the historical significance of the original building and tying together the old and new buildings.
Over 4,000 people are employed at the airport, which connects almost seven million passengers with various airlines annually.
CEO Dan Owens shared: the airport acts as an economic driver for the region, contributing to tourism and economic growth. Despite this significant investment Belfast travellers still cannot avail of the full duty-free tax exemption when travelling to other UK and EU Airports, as airports across England, Scotland and Ireland can, following the Brexit transition period. This is an issue we are determined to put right.
When we started this process around two years ago, we were focused on our goal to transform the passenger experience at Belfast International Airport. Today we can say we have made significant progress in achieving that goal. We provide employment for over 4000 people connecting almost 7m passengers across our airline network. As the economic driver for this region in terms of economic development and tourism growth we are committed to further enhancing the passenger experience while also working with our airline partners to develop our network of routes.”
