Best place for a new terminal/ariport?

A

aircobra19

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I've never understood why instead of expensively extending a landlocked Dublin airport, that has limited scope for future development. They don't build an airport in the center of the country that could service the whole country including Dublin.
 
aircobra19 said:
I've never understood why instead of expensively extending a landlocked Dublin airport, that has limited scope for future development. They don't build an airport in the center of the country that could service the whole country including Dublin.
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I agree with you completely. An airport in Portarlington makes most sense. There is plenty land there, and a rail line which services Dublin, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Galway, Mayo, Offaly, Westmeath, Laois, Kildare etc.

You'd be in Dublin city centre on the train in less than 40mins. If this was Germany then it would be built, but seeing as how it's Ireland we will build a badly designed terminal which will be years late and overbudget at an airport which is impossible to get to. We'll spend a billion on the terminal, and another billion building a metro to get there. Inspiring.
 
aircobra19 said:
I've never understood why instead of expensively extending a landlocked Dublin airport, that has limited scope for future development. They don't build an airport in the center of the country that could service the whole country including Dublin.
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That would be too much like common sense. Politicians in this country do not do common sense.
 
rabbit said:
That would be too much like common sense. Politicians in this country do not do common sense.
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I think they realise it would be common sense, but when it is announced that it will be built in their own constituency and they are seeking re-election etc. they will quickly knock the project on the head. Its a bit like the incinerator issue, they know it makes sense but nobody wnats to see it in their own area.
 
1/3 of the population lives in the greater Dublin area. Why would the airport not be close to Dublin? I do agree that building it further out would be good, maybe near Naas or some other location with good road access and near to rail access that can be upgraded.
 
The thing about Portarlington is that it is nearer to Dublin than the current airport! Maybe not at 3am, but certainly during business hours. The train service right now can do the journey in 40 mins. I am sure that a well designed airport could be built, along with upgrading the rain line and a motorway spur to the M7 for the sum that the new DAA terminal is going to cost.

Trouble is, it would make so much sense that everybody would use it - so Dublin, Cork, Shannon and the other regional airports would loose out. This country is a fine example of one that isn't run for the benefit of it's population. The vested interests would never allow an airport to be built in Portarlington, or anywhere else in the midlands for that matter, even though the new Taoiseach is from there. Nor would the DAA or the unions allow another airport to be built in Dublin.
 

Exactly, 2/3 don't live around Dublin. At peak times, its probably quicker to drive 100 miles out of Dublin than cross from one side to another. Dublin airport is stuck out on the Northside too. So its not even in the middle of Dublin either, or near a train route etc.
 

I think you've summed it up there.
 
shnaek said:
An airport in Portarlington makes most sense. There is plenty land there.....
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Yes there are thousands of acres of largely uninhabited cut away bog land in the vicinity of Portarlington. This cutaway bog is owned by Bord na Mona a state owned enterprise so there would be little or no land acquisition problems.

While there are no local Nimbys to speak of - objections from extreme environmentalists, hippies, "shell to sea" types, anarchists, SFers and luddites of all descriptions from outside the area (and country) would have to be anticipated.
 
aircobra19 said:
1/3 don't live around Swords.
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No, but they live within 15 miles or so of Swords.
There needs to be better transport links to Dublin airport but to suggest that the biggest airport in the country should not be located near to the biggest population centre in the country is nonsense.
 
aircobra19 said:
I've never understood why instead of expensively extending a landlocked Dublin airport, that has limited scope for future development. They don't build an airport in the center of the country that could service the whole country including Dublin.
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somewhere between Mullingar and the M50 would be ideal. That would be more central to most people.
 
aircobra19 said:
I've never understood why instead of expensively extending a landlocked Dublin airport, ...
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What's the big deal about it being land locked? Do you thing that seaplanes will make a comeback?

The problem is not the location it's the total lack of public transport infrastructure serving it.
There is no reason why there should not be direct trains from Galway, Sligo, and Belfast to Dublin Airport.
 

If you read what I posted properly I didn't say that. I said instead of extending Dublin build another airport. Distribute the load etc. Or as you would put it, nearer 2/3's the population. There are times it could take an 15mins or two hours to go 15 miles in Dublin.

Purple said:
What's the big deal about it being land locked? Do you thing that seaplanes will make a comeback?
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Heres a thought. Maybe there's more than one meaning to the term Landlocked?

Even if I'm not using it correctly, its pretty obvious what I meant, so what is served by a comment like that?

Purple said:
The problem is not the location it's the total lack of public transport infrastructure serving it.
There is no reason why there should not be direct trains from Galway, Sligo, and Belfast to Dublin Airport.
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Considering the overloaded train network all feeding into Dublin, and going through Dublin to get to anywhere else in the country cramming more people on it, doesn't appeal to be me tbh. Even assuming if you are going for an early morning flight that you could a train early enough.
 
There are massive economies of scale in the aviation industry which are particularly important in small regional airports (like Dublin airport). The reality is that there is no other location that is nearer 2/3’s of the population. If someone from Wexford wanted to get to an airport in Portarlington by train they would have to go through Dublin to do so. The same would apply for anyone from any other part of Ireland that did not live on the train line that went through Portarlington on the way to Dublin.



aircobra19 said:
Heres a thought. Maybe there's more than one meaning to the term Landlocked?

Even if I'm not using it correctly, its pretty obvious what I meant, so what is served by a comment like that?
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Fair enough, but I didn’t find your comments perfectly obvious.



See my first point; most of the country would have to go through Dublin anyway. Wherever the airport was built transport links to Dublin would be a major priority since it is the largest population centre in the country.

What is needed is a proper train service from Dublin city centre to the airport and the continuation of the upgrade to the national road network. This is a very small country with a very low population density. We should not delude ourselves that it is otherwise.
 
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