Cork Airport launches largest ever winter schedule

2.1 million passengers are expected to use the airport in 2022 following two-years of Covid-related restrictions

Roy O’Driscoll, Acting Managing Director at Cork Airport; Tara Finn, Head of Aviation Business Development at Cork Airport, and Hildegarde Naughton TD, Minister of State at the Department of Transport. From November 2022 through to March 2023, the Cork Airport Winter Schedule will include over 1.1 million seats across 27 routes served by five airlines. Picture: Michael O'Sullivan

Cork Airport has launched its biggest ever winter schedule with five airlines serving routes to 27 European cities from November through to the end of March.

As the airport continues the recovery following two years of Covid-related restrictions, management said they expect 2.1 million passengers to have travelled through Cork in 2022.

“The recovery and growth of passenger traffic at Cork Airport this year has been tremendously strong, buoyed by an extremely busy summer," Cork Airport's acting Managing Director Roy O’Driscoll said.

"With 2.1 million passengers expected to travel to and from Cork Airport in 2022, we are aiming to build on that growth by offering our biggest ever winter schedule to our loyal and valued passengers across Munster and the South of Ireland.”

This winter, Ryanair will operate their largest ever winter schedule at Cork Airport, with 20 routes. Ryanair is also launching two new routes with twice-weekly services to Rome’s Fiumicino Airport and Newcastle commencing at the end of October. It has also extended several summer routes into the winter including twice-weekly services to Valencia, Milan, Venice and Faro.

Aer Lingus will operate a twice-weekly service to Lanzarote while maintaining connectivity to major hub airports of Amsterdam and London-Heathrow, with multiple daily services to Heathrow and a daily service to Amsterdam. In addition, Aer Lingus will also cater to passengers seeking a holiday on the ski slopes with services to Munich and Salzburg commencing in December.

KLM - Royal Dutch Airlines will operate a double-daily service to Amsterdam. Vueling will operate a twice-weekly service to Paris Orly while Swiss International Air Lines will operate a weekly service to Geneva.

Launching the winter schedule, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Hildegarde Naughton said the Government provided more than €25m to Cork Airport last year. Almost €17m of this funding supported the airport’s runway reconstruction project as well as all the airport’s security-related operational costs.

A further €8m was provided to offer route incentives and other incentives to stimulate the restoration of scheduled air services.