BELFAST BRIEFING:George Best Belfast City Airport is setting winning goals for team Northern Ireland
"WHAT IS a George Best?" That's the question I overhead one Spanish visitor asking her friend as we all waited for our luggage to appear at George Best Belfast City Airport in Belfast.
The friend pulled out a guidebook and after a few minutes just shrugged her shoulders. It appears George, our footballing hero, may not be quite as popular with the young ladies as he used to be. But his namesake certainly is.
Last year, more than 2.2 million passengers passed through George Best Belfast City Airport, which is owned by the Spanish group Ferrovial. It has become one of the fastest-growing regional airports in the UK, boosted no doubt by the arrival of Ryanair and the growth of Flybe routes.
The airport has ambitious plans for its future and is likely to lodge a planning application in June to support a multimillion pound proposal to extend the runway by 600 metres.
This might not seem like a huge amount, but the sky would be the limit for the opportunities it could open up for the east-Belfast based airport. Because of legal restrictions there are limitations on the model of aircraft which can use the current runway and restrictions on the number of passengers they can carry on take-off.
If George Best Belfast City Airport gets planning permission to extend the runway, airlines such as Ryanair can sell more seats on their aircraft and they could also fly to new "sun" destinations in larger aircraft.
Brian Ambrose, the chief executive of the airport, admits he would like the airport to get its share of the European market. Mr Ambrose is sympathetic to the concerns of residents who live close by about its expansion plans, but he is also keen to remind people that the airport is a key economic contributor in Northern Ireland.
It currently employs more than 1,500 people on site and supports several hundred off-site jobs.
Britain's department of transport has acknowledged that the airport plays an important role as "transport gateway in the economic life" of the North. It has forecast passenger numbers rising to more than four million per annum by 2030 but, at current growth rates, that target could be reached sooner.
Mr Ambrose says there is no better rationale for developing the airport than the fact that people in the North want access to more destinations and it could also help boost the local economy.
He says its parent Ferrovial, which also owns BAA - including London's Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports - has been an enthusiastic supporter.
Mr Ambrose has taken up the role as chairman of the Confederation of British Industry. He intends to put his 30 years of experience in the highly-competitive aviation business to good use by inspiring, cajoling and encouraging better business practice in the North.
"If Northern Ireland is going to take advantage of its unique position now, people have to step up to the task and take a leadership role. It is good time to be involved and to help make a difference.
"We all need to concentrate our focus on growing the private sector. We need to excite the next generation about the opportunities which now exist in Northern Ireland." He believes it is time for a shake-up when it comes to how government agencies deal with encouraging companies to trade and expand their business.
"We need to be pragmatic. We need our agencies such as Invest Northern Ireland to change some of the things they do. For example, they should not be concentrating on trying to help 2,000 plus companies - instead they should focus on the 300 companies who can actually achieve their objectives.
Building a new economy in the North will be a game of two halves - it will depend on creating the right playing field and then attracting the players - something George Best would have been well placed to understand.
