Key Points

• EGPH/Edinburgh airport has a rule that means all aircraft have to go through outbound security screening, regardless of weight or type of flight.
• Airport Spy reports suggest this can easily take an extra hour to complete, so plan for departure delays.
• If planning a trip to the region, consider EGPF/Glasgow instead!

There’s a rule in the UK that means outbound security screening is required for commercial flights over 10 tonnes MTOW, and all flights over 45.5 tonnes whether commercial or private.

But at EGPH/Edinburgh, outbound screening is required for all flights, regardless of weight or type of flight.

This means all crew and pax must pass through security, and abide by the 100ml liquid rule for carry-on luggage.

A recent Airport Spy report says that this whole process took around an hour, and they were the only crew there at the time!

Another Airport Spy report says to consider using EGPF/Glasgow instead, where they just have the standard UK rules for screening, and also don’t have arrival or departure slots.

The reason that EGPH/Edinburgh has this strange rule is something to do with it being a “Critical Part” airport.

What is a “Critical Part” airport?

Some folks we spoke to called this term “Critical Park”, others “Critical Path”, but we think it’s “Critical Part”.

Either way, there’s nothing about it in the UK AIP or seemingly anywhere else online.

It’s apparently something to do with how the specific layout of the airport affects zoning for security purposes.

And that’s all we know.

Are there any other UK airports that do this?

Yes. EGLL/Heathrow and EGKK/Gatwick are both “Critical Part” airports, so both have the same rule: all outbound flights must have security screening here.

EGWU/Northolt is the only other airport in the UK that we know of which has mandatory outbound security screening for all outbound flights, but that’s due to some kind of requirement in place from the military there, as the airport is a joint civil/military field.

We contacted a whole bunch of other airports (EGSS/Stansted, EGGW/Luton, EGMC/Southend, EGLC/London City, EGTK/Oxford, EGLF/Farnborough, EGKB/Biggin Hill), and they all said the same thing: no weird “Critical Part” stuff here – the normal UK rules apply.

So tell me the rules again?

EGPH/EGLL/EGKK/EGWU: Outbound screening is required for all flights, regardless of weight or type of flight.

All other UK airports: Outbound screening only required for commercial flights over 10 tonnes MTOW, and all flights over 45.5 tonnes whether commercial or private. You can read more about this here.

Thinking about heading to Scotland for some whisky, golf or a plate of haggis? Here’s a little ‘Top Trumps’ guide to three of the airports you might be thinking of operating into.

(If you want to visit Trump International golf course in Scotland then that’d be EGPD/Aberdeen you’re after).

Scotland at a glance.

Scotland offers several international airport options. We already mentioned EGPD/Aberdeen which is northeast. Even further north you have EGPE/Inverness up in the Highlands. The HIAL (Highlands and Islands) Airport Group look after eleven airports up in the north region.

EGPN/Dundee and EGPT/Perth are your central easterly choices, with EGEO/Oban to the west (and a couple out in the islands).

Your top three which lie closer to the border with England however are EGPF/Glasgow, EGPK/Glasgow Prestwick and EGPH/Edinburgh. So we thought we’d take a look at those.

Who controls you?

Scotland is part of the United Kingdom. Like the rest of the UK they use Great British Pounds (GBP), and aviation is controlled by the UK CAA.

NATS provide the ATC services through their Prestwick Centre. You’ll probably find yourself speaking to Manchester Area Control (MACC) if you fly through England, before handing over to Scottish (ScACC) and potentially Oceanic (OACC) who control the eastern half of the NAT from 45 degrees north (Azores) to 61 degrees north (the boundary to Iceland).

You generally don’t need permits to overfly and land, unless you are a commercial flight wanting to land. That said, some airports do have slot requirements and to head into the UK you do need to fill out a General Aviation Report, and ensure customs have a copy at least a day in advance. If you’re a commercial operator, give it two days and if it’s for a series of fights then five will keep you organised.

Head here for info on this, or email foreigncarrierpermits@caa.co.uk for help with permits

What’s the weather looking like?

We’ve given this its own section because the weather in Scotland can be challenging. Along the southern region it is milder but you are still going to be faced with some serious snow and winter ops conditions from time to time. 

Back in 2017, major snow storms resulted in the closure of Scottish airports, and many a day of disruption. It happened again in 2018, and in fact does pretty much every year. Fast forward to now (2021) and a town in Aberdeenshire just recorded the coldest temperature seen in the UK in 26 years (minus 23°C, or -9.4°F for our American continent friends).

So Scotland gets cold and snowy. This means you need to think about your cold weather ops, in particular:

• Cold temperature altitude corrections
• De-icing/Anti-icing procedures
• Contaminated runway performance

Thinking of Glasgowing to the capital?

Then you probably want to fly to Edinburgh. Despite being the biggest city, Glasgow is not actually the capital of Scotland. It does however boast a nice airport for you to use.

EGPF/Glasgow – the runway 05/23 is relatively short at just 8743 feet (2665 meters) and you have a displaced threshold to think about as well. That said, the Airbus 380 can get in here so it isn’t that small, and both directions offer CAT III capability.

Biggest threat: Some terrain and a busy missed approach because of it.

Edin-brrrrr

 

EGPH/Edinburgh also has a single runway 06/24 which is shorter than Glasgow’s at just 8386 feet (2556 meters). It also has CAT III capability in both directions.

Edinburgh gets windy. When there are strong south to south west winds wind shear is common and can be vicious.

The airport had a new GA ramp open up in 2019 so parking is less of an issue, but this is still a fairly busy airport so plan in advance.

Biggest Threat: The weather in winter and the wind shear from those South/Southwesters.

 

Prestwick

EGPK/Glasgow Prestwick (not to be confused with EGPF/Glasgow) is your third choice in this area. It offers the longest runway option – 12/30 at 9800 feet (2987 meters) but is only ILS CAT I capable.

The topography at Prestwick is the main threat – it can cause some significant wind shear and turbulence.

The airport is a popular tech stop for aircraft routing from the USA.

Biggest Threat: The terrain under the arrival/approach area for runway 30.

A Top Trump summary for you 🃏

Airport Lowdowns 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

We’ve made an Airport Lowdown for all three airports. If you are an OPSGROUP member then you can find them by clicking each of these thumbnails.

     

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These Airport Lowdowns are the briefings we’ve started to put together on specific airports – the useful, practical, operational stuff. The threats, risks and gotchas that you discover with experience.

There are a bunch more available for other airports via Airport Spy in your dashboard.

To download the PDF for each airport:
1. Head over to Airport Spy in your dashboard
2. Search for the airport you want
3. Click on the “Docs & Data” tab