Return of Cork to Dublin flights is a strong possibility — Daa chief

Kenny Jacobs speaks about Cork Airport's future growth, transatlantic flights, the old terminal and its future within the Daa

Daa chief executive Kenny Jacobs at Cork Airport's terminal. Picture: Brian Lougheed

Cork Airport will have a record year for international travel, according to Daa chief executive Kenny Jacobs, revising up forecasts to 2.7m for 2023.

Six months after taking up the role with responsibility for Dublin and Cork airports along with the Daa's international operations, Mr Jacobs said the aviation sector had rebounded strongly from the covid pandemic and he spoke confidently about its future.

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, the Cork native and former marketing chief for Ryanair is clear Cork will likely experience further growth, potentially reaching capacity of 5m passengers by the end of the decade.

"Cork is ahead of where it was in 2019," he said. "A huge amount of that travel from Ireland is outbound to sun destinations — Spain, Portugal and Italy. 

"Cork will reach 2.7m passengers this year. Cork’s biggest-ever year was 2008 when it hit 3.2m but within that, over half a million was the Cork to Dublin route. So this year, it could be Cork’s biggest ever year for international travel.

"With 2.7m this year, I could see it getting to 3.5m and even 4m pretty handily. It’s a very busy airport. Loads of parking and lots of space in the terminal. 

Ryanair is constantly adding routes. We can see it being an airport of 5m passengers by the end of the decade or soon after."

Cork Airport has a capacity for 5m passengers. Picture: Denis Scannell

The popular Cork to Dublin flights operated by Ryanair and Aer Lingus Regional ended in 2011 when the M8 motorway dramatically cut driving times between both cities. However, Jacobs said there was a strong possibility such a route could be resurrected.

"I’d be amazed if it doesn’t return at some point. It won’t come back at the numbers it was. It was a route that had too much frequency and that can kill a route. Dublin as a transatlantic hub is really developing. Aer Lingus want to grow it further. Last week they announced Ohio as a new route. I would say people in Cork who don’t go to Dublin would now have a new reason for a transatlantic flight. So, I would never say never. I could see it coming back."

Jacobs said the key to growing traffic at Cork was European destinations. 

There is no reason why Cork should not have Lisbon, Madrid and Berlin on a year-round basis. They are the ones that I think need to be sustained across the summer and winter. 

"Everyone gets excited about Cork and New York but really it's Lisbon and Barcelona all year round. Somewhere like Copenhagen is also needed. They are the ones that are most attractive."

Cork secured its first transatlantic flights in the years before covid with Norwegian-operated flights to the US east coast. Discussions around such flights are raised on a regular basis. 

"Could transatlantic happen, yes. But the European capitals year-round is the logical next step. Transatlantic carriers will look at Cork again but they just want to get through the summer and the winter. It will be next year before they look at Cork again. The runway can take transatlantic, so the infrastructure is there but as I said, Cork’s growth should be focused on Europe.

Jacobs took over the role following a very difficult 2022 for Dublin Airport, where staff shortages resulted in massive security queues, something he is confident will not be repeated this year.

“Dublin Airport has been very stable so far this year, in that 92% of people have moved through security in 20 minutes or less. The summer will be busy in Dublin and you would never be complacent but we are much more confident that it won’t be anything like last summer. 

"We now have 870 security staff. This time last year we had about 600. But within the 870 we have about 650 who are just looking at the screens as your bag goes by. Last year, that number was 300 so we have doubled the number in that area.

Passengers queue to get into the Departures at Terminal 2, Dublin Airport last May. Picture: Colin Keegan

“The airport will be busy because we have a lot of flights departing at the same time but it won’t be anything like last year. There will be no white tents, no metal barriers."

With Dublin often operating at almost full capacity, there have been regular calls for routes to be more evenly distributed across regional airports like Cork, Shannon and Knock but it is not straightforward.

"Many will say routes should be moved from Dublin to Cork or Shannon but does it work that way? No, it doesn’t. Having worked on the airline side, it’s Dublin and then the regionals. So Cork is competing with Shannon. The airlines don’t say 'I am going to take this route and move it to Cork and it’s going to work just as well'. The demand just doesn’t transfer."

Prior to the covid pandemic and the devastation it wrought on global travel and aviation, a key question regarding Cork Airport was its status with the Daa. Shannon Airport operates independently and many campaigned for a similar status for Cork. Jacobs has a different view.

"Cork is still best placed in Daa," he said. "The recent runway project, the new electricity substations, new scanners, those investments are happening because it is part of the DAA and Cork would not be able to carry out those works at the same rate if it was independent. 

Cork is still free to do its own deals with airlines. It has full commercial autonomy so it benefits by being part of the Daa. It is not competing with Dublin for routes, it’s competing against Shannon.

The runway reconstruction project was considered a major success and was carried out at a time when traffic was reduced due to covid restrictions. New C3 scanners, currently in operation at Dublin Airport, that move passengers through security faster and remove the need to scan liquids separately, will likely be installed in Cork in 2025. 

With much larger machines, they will require significant capital work to be carried out at Cork Airport's security section. The removal of the old terminal will also require significant planning and development.

"At some point, the demolition of the old terminal will be on the agenda and that will allow us to put additional aircraft stands and a walkway into the main terminal. It’s there that you have additional capacity."

The old terminal at Cork Airport is to be demolished to make space for more aircraft stands. Picture: John Sheehan

While positive for the future of aviation and traffic growth in Ireland, Jacobs is aware of moves in other countries to curtail air travel over environmental concerns. France has banned most internal flights given the improvements to its rail network.

"The continental European approach towards banning internal flights and on top of that Germany France and The Netherlands going down the route of subsidising national rail tickets. We don’t have that choice. We have to be careful that Ireland, as an island nation on the periphery of Europe, does the right thing for Irish travel and inward investment and jobs and we have to continue to support inbound and outbound connectivity. 

"You cannot get a train from Cork to the south of France as you can in continental Europe. It can’t be a one-size-all."

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