Debate contribution: Belfast City Airport Master Plan

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 11 May 2026.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

11 May 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Belfast City Airport Master Plan

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5524228

Read the official Assembly record

Text

That was quick. I thank Members for bringing the motion to the Assembly today and for their contributions as part of the debate. As Minister with responsibility for the transport network, including our gateway ports and airports, I will respond to the motion and will speak on behalf of my colleague Caoimhe Archibald, the Minister for the Economy. As outlined in my Department's draft transport strategy, I recognise that our airports are a gateway for tourism, business and regional connectivity. I am committed to working alongside Minister Archibald and the Department for the Economy to ensure that our airports have the necessary support and legislative basis to sustainably grow their operations while meeting the climate change commitments and other regulatory requirements. We therefore welcome the ambitious programme for expansion set out by Belfast City Airport in its recently launched master plan 2040. I was delighted to meet airport representatives to look at that and get a feel for what they hope to do. I believe that, at the outset, it would be useful to set out some context. Belfast City Airport is privately owned by 3i Group plc. It funds operational and facility improvements independently. When an organisation such as an airport plans to significantly develop or redevelop premises, a master plan is a practical way to demonstrate that development has been considered holistically rather than as a series of piecemeal applications. As such, a master plan helps to give a clear, understandable picture of what is proposed and facilitates meaningful stakeholder engagement. It also permits statutory bodies to engage effectively early, helping to facilitate the planning process. Given that the proposed development does not meet the threshold criteria specified in legislation for a regionally significant development, any subsequent planning application will be directed to Belfast City Council in the first instance. However, given my Department's role in relation to the current modified planning agreement and its role as a statutory consultee by virtue of being the roads authority, my Department will have significant input into the process. Turning first to the modified planning agreement signed in July 2019, the agreement, which aims to control the noise impact of operations on the amenity of surrounding residential areas, contains a number of restrictions and obligations on airport operations. For example, the airport cannot operate more than 48,000 air traffic movements in any 12-month period. It is restricted to operating hours of 6:30 am to 9:30 pm, with delayed aircraft allowed to operate later only if there are exceptional circumstances. Many of those restrictions have been in place since the late 1990s, when the first planning agreement was signed. The latest modified planning agreement introduced a noise control contour that is in place during the summer months, and it means that aircraft cannot create an average daytime noise level above a set limit over a large area. Airport operations during the summer months are limited by that noise control contour. The area exposed to 57 decibels (dB) average noise level over a 16-hour day cannot exceed 5·2 square kilometres. From 2019, annual performance reports have shown that the airport has never exceeded or come close to that level of noise. As yet, my Department has not received any request to amend the current planning agreement, and I am happy for my Department to engage with the airport on any plans to modify it. As the roads authority, as I said, my Department is a statutory consultee and technical adviser in the planning process. In that role, officials consider a proposed development's impact on the transport network and compliance with transport policy. Given the aspiration to grow passenger numbers and the importance of connectivity to and from the airport, Belfast City Airport has included revised access arrangements to the site as part of its master plan proposals. My Department will fully engage with Belfast City Airport through the planning process to offer advice on road safety and traffic progression as it develops detailed proposals for enhanced access arrangements to the site. Outside the statutory roles, my Department is engaged with Translink to consider options for improving connectivity to the site. Last year, over 280,000 passengers travelled on the Airport Express 600 service, which was a 5% growth on the previous year. The timetable that services the airport is extensive. Midweek, buses operate from 5.15 am to 10.00 pm with 20-minute frequencies in the bus service between 7.00 am and 6.00 pm. In addition to introducing new fully electric, branded fleet on that service, Translink continues to work closely with the airport on opportunities to enhance bus services. I turn to rail services. As recognised in the all-island strategic rail review's final report, whilst Belfast City Airport is currently served by the rail network via the Sydenham station, the connectivity between Sydenham station and Belfast City Airport could be improved. People currently access the airport by many modes, and it will be important to understand what works best for everyone who uses the airport. In line with the review, Translink and my Department are working together to consider options for improved rail accessibility and connectivity to Belfast City Airport. Given my Department's role, my officials and I have had several meetings with Belfast City Airport at which it has talked about the draft master plan. Domestic aviation accounts for 4% of our local transport emissions. Aviation decarbonisation is addressed via agreed mechanisms such as fleet efficiency, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and emissions trading. The British Government set the target of net zero aviation emissions by 2050 via its 'Jet Zero Strategy'. The British Government also introduced and oversee the sustainable aviation fuel mandate, which mandates increased year-on-year usage of SAF blended into jet fuel. The decarbonisation of aviation is already taking place through carbon pricing mechanisms such as the emissions trading scheme (ETS) and the global carbon offsetting and reduction scheme for international aviation (CORSIA). The collective ETS authority is the British, Scottish and Welsh Governments and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs. The Climate Change Committee has advised the Executive to work with the British Government to ensure that the aviation sector takes responsibility for mitigating its emissions via measures such as the SAF mandate and the ETS, as well as supporting innovation and the commercialisation of low- and zero-emission aircraft. The Department for the Economy and DAERA have engagement with British Government Departments through Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and Department for Transport-led stakeholder groups to ensure sight of policy developments and relay to local airports where relevant. Given my Department's roles, my officials engaged with the Department for the Economy on the development of its recently published draft aviation policy. The consultation seeks views on policy positions to support a thriving, sustainable aviation sector that strengthens our connectivity, drives economic growth and works with partners to address taxation, skills and decarbonisation challenges. The Department for the Economy acknowledges that it has been initiated later than originally intended: that was due to resource pressures and a number of immediate time-critical departmental and ministerial objectives that needed to be delivered. The Climate Change Act 2022 does not impose direct legal obligations on private organisations such as Belfast City Airport; rather, any decision that is taken by Belfast City Airport as a private organisation will be subject to current planning rules and statutory obligations. From the points that were raised in the debate, I think that there is a collective wish for the master plan to be successful, and my Department will certainly work closely with Belfast City Airport and the Department for the Economy and other stakeholders throughout the process. We have to go through the process as it has been laid out, but I hope that we can get a positive outcome that will benefit people not just in Belfast but across the island, because it is a real opportunity for tourism, business and connectivity. I thank Members for the points that they raised, and I look forward to the continued working with the airport and my ministerial colleagues as the work progresses.

1,345 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:38 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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