Isle of Man International Airport Purt Aer Vannin | |||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public | ||||||||||||||
| Operator | Department of Infrastructure | ||||||||||||||
| Serves | Isle of Man | ||||||||||||||
| Location | Ronaldsway,Malew,Isle of Man | ||||||||||||||
| Focus city for | Loganair | ||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 52 ft / 16 m | ||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 54°05′00″N004°37′24″W / 54.08333°N 4.62333°W /54.08333; -4.62333 | ||||||||||||||
| Website | airport.im | ||||||||||||||
| Map | |||||||||||||||
  EGNS Location on the Isle of Man Show map of Isle of Man EGNS Location between Ireland and Britain Show map of the United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||
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| Statistics (2024) | |||||||||||||||
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| Source: Statistics from theDepartment of Infrastructure (Isle of Man)[1] | |||||||||||||||
Isle of Man Airport (Manx:Purt Aer Vannin, also known asRonaldsway Airport) (IATA:IOM,ICAO:EGNS) is the main civilianairport on theIsle of Man. It is located in the south of the island atRonaldsway nearCastletown, 6nautical miles (11 km; 6.9 mi) southwest ofDouglas,[2] the island's capital. Along with theIsle of Man Sea Terminal, it is one of the two main gateways to the island. The airport has scheduled services to theUnited Kingdom andIreland.
Ronaldsway was first used as an airfield in 1928[3] with passenger services to the UK starting in 1933, operated byBlackpool and West Coast Air Services (later West Coast Air Services). Further services were established byAer Lingus andRailway Air Services (RAS) from 1934. From 1937 RAS operations from Ronaldsway to the UK were transferred toIsle of Man Air Services. In a 1936 expansion of the Ronaldsway Airport, workers discovered a mass grave believed to hold the remains of soldiers who died during theBattle of Ronaldsway in 1275.
The airfield came underRoyal Air Force control at the outbreak of theSecond World War. Known as RAF Ronaldsway, it was one of the few airfields that continued operating civilian flights throughout the wartime period.
The airfield was used by № 1 GDGS (Ground Defence and Gunnery School) operatingWestland Wallace aircraft, thedrogues from these aircraft being fired on from gun emplacements onSt Michael's Isle (Fort Island) andSanton Head. An expansion of the airport during the War led to the discovery of the archaeological remains of aNeolithic settlement belonging to what is now called theRonaldsway culture, in honour of this site.
RAF operations continued until 1943 when the airfield was handed over to theAdmiralty for further development as aFleet Air Arm training station.
Now a naval air station, RNAS Ronaldsway, the airport was taken out of commission in 1943 for almost twelve months of extensive development undertaken byJohn Laing & Son.[4] By the summer of 1944 the airfield had evolved from a grass landing area with a few hangars to a four runway airfield with the infrastructure to house and operate three training squadrons usingBarracudatorpedo bombers.
Commissioned as HMSUrley (Manx forEagle) by the Admiralty on 21 June 1944, with accounts handled byHMS Valkyrie, flying recommenced on 15 July 1944.[5] The airfield's main role was that of a torpedo working-up station. No. 1 OTU consisted of710,713 and747 Squadrons (Fleet Air Arm) and these operated until the cessation of hostilities in 1945. The base waspaid off on 14 January 1946, and transferred to 'Care and Maintenance' underHMS Blackcap.[5] The nominaldepot ship from 21 June 1944 was a 32' cutter namedXXII, which itself was constructed in 1937.[5]
The airport reverted to solely civilian flying almost immediately after the war, but the airfield remained in Admiralty possession until sold to theIsle of Man Government for £200,000 in 1948, far short of the £1 million that theUK Government had spent on constructing the airport buildings and runways, plus the £105,000 that was paid by the Admiralty in 1943 to purchase the site. Several Manx-based airlines were formed in the early postwar years to operate scheduled and charter services to the UK mainland.
A project by Ellis Brown Architects began in November 1998 to extend the airport and improve the facilities available to passengers. In March 2000 the new extension was opened, providing a new landside catering outlet, arrivals area, baggage hall, and departure lounge. The existing part of the airport was refurbished during this time to provide improvedcheck-in facilities and offices, linked to the extension with a new airport entrance. During the extension and renovation period, the iconicThree Legs of Man sculpture adorning the airport's façade was also refurbished. In March 2006 funding for a further extension was granted byTynwald to increase the number of departuregates, with work due for completion in summer 2007.
In April 2008 Tynwald granted a major runway extension and resurfacing project at the airport. The runway will be extended by 245 m (804 ft) out into theIrish Sea by the construction of a rock-armouredpromontory.[6] It was part of a £44m plan which also included resurfacing of the runway during summer 2008 and the extension program that will commence in spring 2008 work was completed by early 2011. It has emerged that the actual runway take-off length was underestimated by 160 metres in the £1.5 million feasibility study. Whilst the study originally looked into the aviation marketing implication of runway length, airport management has now denied that the extension is for the use of heavier aircraft in the future, stating that the resurfacing and extension are to comply with the latest international safety standards.[7]
There has been a significant overspend on the project due to poor foreign exchange management of the Euro-denominated components of the costs. It is thought that the Manx Treasury Minister may have been referring to the expense of the runway and the additional £6,515,000 control tower project[8] when he stated in his 2009 Budget speech that the Isle of Man could no longer afford "Rolls-Royce" projects. Following the completion of the runway extension project the largest aircraft that can operate fully at Ronaldsway is theBoeing 757.
In September 2019,Flybe announced it would shut down its base operations at the airport by Spring 2020.[9]
The Isle of Man airport has one terminal with 5 gates, all of which are hardstands. Airside, there is a lounge operated byMenzies Aviation that can be accessed by passengers for a fee. There is also a duty free, a bar and aCosta Coffee café.
The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from the Isle of Man:[10]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | Dublin[11] |
| British Airways | Seasonal charter:Faro,[12]Ibiza,[13]Málaga,[14]Palma de Mallorca[15] |
| easyJet | Liverpool,[16]London–Gatwick,[17]Manchester[18] Seasonal:Bristol,[10]London–Luton |
| Loganair | Birmingham,[19]Edinburgh,[20]Liverpool,[19]London–City,[21]London–Heathrow,[19]Manchester,[22]Newquay[23] |
| Smartwings | Seasonal charter:Tenerife–South[24] |
Now-defunct regional airlinesCitywing[25] andManx Airlines[26] had their head offices on the airport property. TheManx Military and Aviation Museum is situated next to the airport and has exhibits and information about the history of aviation on the island.
| Year | Passenger numbers | |
|---|---|---|
| Total | % change | |
| 2014 | 729,703 | - |
| 2015 | 781,601 |  7.1% |
| 2016 | 791,651 | 1.3% |
| 2017 | 797,615 | 0.8% |
| 2018 | 787,257 |  1.3% |
| 2019 | 854,676 | 8.6% |
| 2020 | 162,898 | 80.9% |
| 2021 | 182,371 | 12.0% |
| 2022 | 562,490 | 208.4% |
| 2023 | 649,342 | 15.4% |
| 2024 | 652,274 | 0.5% |
| Rank | Airport | Passengers handled | % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liverpool | 178,036 | 3.9% |
| 2 | London-Gatwick | 165,176 | 3.4% |
| 3 | Manchester | 121,233 | 1.4% |
| 4 | Dublin | 39,701 | 2.5% |
| 5 | London-Heathrow | 33,732 | 1.7% |
| 6 | Bristol | 20,743 | 23.4% |
| 7 | London-City | 19,056 | 4.3% |
| 8 | Birmingham | 18,336 | 8.5% |
| 9 | Belfast-International | 17,855 | 10.6% |
| 10 | Edinburgh | 9,344 | 16.7% |
Bus services are provided byBus Vannin, formerlyIsle of Man Transport, to Douglas, Castletown,Colby,Port Erin,Port St Mary,Peel,St John's,Foxdale and Castletown.[28]
Ronaldsway railway station on theIsle of Man Railway is roughly 600 metres walk from the airport, and is sometimes used by air passengers.
In common with most international airports, the Isle of Man Airport maintains its own fire service. This service cooperates closely with theIsle of Man Fire and Rescue Service, although it is independent, with its own management and chief officer. For joint operational purposes, and for the assigning of radio call signs to appliances, the airport fire station is known as "station 9", in a common series with the IoM Fire & Rescue Service, whose seven fire stations are numbered from "station 1" to "station 7" inclusive. The airport fire station is a large five-bay purpose-built structure with duty rooms and offices. The service operates a fleet including two Carmichael Cobra 2 major foam tenders, a third (smaller) major foam tender, a standard duty pump (principally for building fires), and a 4x4 Land Rover. A further major appliance (Iturri Torro) is on order.[citation needed]
TheIsle of Man Airport Police was a small independent police service providing security and policing at the airport site, with warranted constables, known as "aviation security officers" (ASO). Under Manx law ASOs had full police powers, including the power of arrest, whilst on airport property. For major crimes the airport police was supported by theIsle of Man Constabulary. The airport police were disbanded at the end of September 2019, with the responsibility for airfield security passing to a private contractor.
Media related toIsle of Man Airport at Wikimedia Commons
