Airport hangar facilities

1240/5(6987)

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BY DEPUTY S.S.P.A. POWER OF ST. BRELADE

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 10th JULY 2012

Question

Can the Minister advise –

1. how much hangar space is available at the Airport for commercial aircraft that may need covered maintenance or repair?
2. whether the Blue Islands ATR aircraft that recently suffered undercarriage collapse can be housed in any hangar?
3. what covered facilities, if any, are available for air accident investigators to study such incidents?

Answer

1. The available hangar space at Jersey Airport is limited by aircraft size and availability. The three hangars that could accommodate a commercial aircraft have varying limitations in aircraft size; the largest being able to accommodate small commercial aircraft in the region of the 20 to 30 seats range; while the smallest hangar has the capacity to accommodate aircraft in the region of 8 to 10 seats.
2. Unfortunately, the Blue Islands ATR aircraft cannot be suitably accommodated in any hangar at Jersey Airport. One privately owned hangar could partially accommodate the ATR aircraft. However, the aircraft's tail section would not be able to fit and part of it would remain outside, which would result in not being able to fully close the hangar doors.
3. If the aircraft is of a size that could fit into a privately owned hangar then there are three potential facilities available. However, if the size of the aircraft is deemed too large (which the majority of commercial aircraft types operating in Jersey are) then there are no permanent covered facilities available. Aircraft operators do have the option of establishing a temporary structure in a suitable location on the aerodrome to accommodate investigations and subsequent repairs.