Dublin Airport (IATA: DUB, ICAO: EIDW) is an international airport serving Dublin, the capital of The Republic of Ireland. It is the 13th busiest airport in Europe, and by far the busiest in Ireland.
The airport was initially know as Collinstown Aerodrome when it opened in 1917 as a base for the British Royal Flying Corps. The site was then used as an internment camp during the Irish Civil War and left abandoned until 1937, when work began to convert the field into a civil airport for the newly established civil airline, Aer Lingus. By 1950 Dublin Airport had welcomed a total of 920,000 passengers and featured three new concrete runways, the longest of which (16/34) is still used today, although the other two are still clearly visible from the air. Runway 10R/28L was opened in 1989 and a new runway measuring 3,110 m (10,203 ft) is currently under construction to the north of and parallel to the existing runway 10R/28L.
31,495,604 passengers in 2018, up 6.5% from 2017
226,181 aircraft movements in 2018, up 4.8% from 2017
The Shannon Area Control Centre is operated by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and controls most of the air traffic over the Republic of Ireland between FL75 and FL245. The centre is located in Ballycasey, County Clare in the West of Ireland. In addition, the centre handles over 90% of all air traffic over the North Atlantic, via Shanwick Oceanic Control.
A large area around Dublin and the province of Leinster is available for your contol within openScope as well as a few areas over the Irish Sea, outside of the Shannon FIR, which are delegated to Dublin Control for arrivals into Dublin. These include:
Withing the Shannon FIR:
| Name | Lower Limit | Upper Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Dublin CTR | SFC | 5,000 ft |
| Dublin CTA | 1,500 ft | FL245 |
| Dublin CTA (Stub) | 1,500 ft | FL245 |
| Dublin CTA | 2,500 ft | FL245 |
| Dublin CTA | 3,000 ft | FL245 |
| Dublin CTA | 3,500 ft | FL245 |
| Dublin CTA | 4,500 ft | FL245 |
| Dublin CTA (East) | 4,500 ft | FL245 |
| Dublin CTA | 5,000 ft | FL245 |
| Dublin CTA | FL075 | FL245 |
Dublin has numerous instrument departures and standard terminal arrival routes.
| Runway | Category | Suffix | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28L | C/D | A | EIDW AD 2.24-11 |
| 10R | C/D | E | EIDW AD 2.24-17 |
| 16 | C/D | M | EIDW AD 2.24-19 |
| 34 | C/D | G | EIDW AD 2.24-21 |
Note: PELIG departures are not available when the EIR16 military airspace is active.
Dublin Airport was one of the first airports in the world to adopt a point merge system, minimizing conflicts between departing and arriving aircraft as well as reducing fuel consumption. Once within the point merge arches, aircraft can be given shortcuts or vectors to join the ILS approach. Point merge approaches are used for aircraft landing on runways 28L and 10R. Although all STARs include both altitude and speed restrictions, actual descent clearances are given by ATC.
| Runway | Suffix | Point Merge | Chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28L | L | Yes | EIDW AD 2.24-22 |
| 10R | R | Yes | EIDW AD 2.24-23 |
| 16 | U/K | No | EIDW AD 2.24-24 |
| 34 | S/K | No | EIDW AD 2.24-25 |
There are several restricted and prohibited areas within the Dublin CTA. Most notably, EIR16 is a large area Southwest of Dublin used for military training up to FL240. There are also a few spots over the city of Dublin where flying is prohibited below 1,000ft
9nm Southwest of EIDW
Located on the border between the counties of Kildare and Dublin, Weston Airport is a small airport 15km West of Dublin serving primarily private and commercial flight training as well as business/executive traffic. The airport also has a full-size Boeing B737 flight simulator, which is open for use by the public.
10nm Southwest of EIDW
Baldonnel / Casement Aerodrome is a military airbase to the southwest of Dublin. Property of the Irish Department of Defence, it is the headquarters and the sole airfield of the Irish Air Corps and home of the Garda Air Support Unit.