Her Majesty The Queen marks refurbishment at Belfast International Airport
Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, on the final engagement of a two day visit to Northern Ireland attended a reception at Belfast International Airport to mark the completion of major refurbishments of the terminal infrastructure.
The £10million redevelopment project was designed in 2009 to bring about major improvements for passengers using the airport and to facilitate a more convenient flow through the terminal for departing passengers. Completion of the project has created a new departures terminal within the existing structure.
The Core terminal building at Belfast International Airport was opened in February 1963 by Her Majesty The Queen Mother as the new International Airport for Northern Ireland . The most recent addition was in 1998 with the opening of the new check-in and outbound baggage sortation halls by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh.
Her Majesty and His Royal Highness were greeted by the Mrs Joan Christie OBE, Lord Lieutenant of County Antrim and went on to meet Mr John Doran, Managing Director, Belfast International Airport and Mr Alan Whiteside, Operations Director, Belfast International Airport.
In the Business Lounge HM The Queen and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, accompanied by Mr Doran and Mr Whiteside, met around 70 guests from the Airport Senior Management Team, Airport Fire Service, Air Traffic Control, Airport Constabulary, Emergency and Support Staff and Airport Administration.
Her Majesty and His Royal Highness also met representatives from organisations associated with the Airport, including UK Border Agency, Portal Policing, Airline Representatives and Handling Agents and local Business representatives.
Following a few words of thanks Mr Doran invited Her Majesty and His Royal Highness to unveil a plaque to commemorate the visit before then signing the visitors book.
Mrs Patricia McDonagh , who has worked at the Airport for over 25 years, presented Her Majesty with a gift of a posy of flowers, bringing the visit to a close.