Niall MacCarthy: Cork Airport is ready for next step of development to take off

Airport's managing director outlines plans for push past 5m passengers annually

 

The past week has been an important one for Cork's transport infrastructure, with the official opening by the Taoiseach of the new platform at Iarnród Éireann’s Kent Station and the launch of public consultation of the Cork Luas light rail system.

These developments are critical strategic infrastructure projects that will significantly enhance connectivity and support the region's growth. With the Easter holidays and key tourist season now underway, Cork Airport, as another vital cog in the transport and tourism eco-system, is ready to welcome summer visitors and play a key role as the main international gateway to the south of Ireland.

Cork Airport is the fastest-growing airport in the Republic of Ireland, with passenger numbers up by almost 10% this year. The growth can be attributed, in part, to the wide network of destinations and key hubs available from Cork but also, the growing number of customers from the midlands and south-east – areas outside our traditional Munster catchment area – choosing to fly from Cork.

What really sets Cork Airport apart from other regional airports in Ireland is how quickly the airport is growing with the support of our parent group, daa. Last year, we welcomed over 3.1m passengers – the busiest year for international passenger traffic in the airport’s 63-year history. That growth is hard-won and hard-fought and comes from our relentless focus on providing great customer service, a hassle-free airport experience and our friendly and welcoming staff. Cork Airport achieved an overall 94% customer satisfaction rating through independently conducted market research. 

With strong links to the UK and Europe, the airport has the best connectivity with some of the largest European airport hubs that is available outside of Dublin. From Cork, passengers have global travel connectivity through the likes of Heathrow, Amsterdam’s Schiphol or even through Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt, or Zurich airports.

We are planning to add further destinations and frequencies in 2026. Partnerships with our airlines and tourism agencies have helped us add new routes and increased frequencies on routes from key international source markets.

Cork Airport has always been recognised as the main entry point for visitors coming to the south of Ireland and it is marketed as such by our partners in Tourism Ireland and Fáilte Ireland. We have a very close relationship with our colleagues in Visit Cork, who do trojan work in growing business and leisure tourism in the region. Tourism Ireland research shows that overseas visitors to the region spend more than €600m in the South-West region every year. This collaboration is even more important in the uncertain times we live in, with global geopolitical uncertainty feeding market nervousness.

As Cork Airport continues to grow, we need to plan now for the next six to 10 years which will take the airport towards, and beyond, 5m passengers per annum. Under the National Development Plan, Cork has been identified as the fastest-growing city in Ireland for the next 20 years. The airport will grow in tandem with the city. The Taoiseach will launch a number of significant capital infrastructure projects soon that make up the next phase of our masterplan, including some which will be “shovel-ready” within months.

The daa Group has already invested over €40m in capital infrastructure projects at Cork Airport in recent years. In late 2021, our main runway was completely reconstructed in the space of 10 weeks. This project, one of the largest capital infrastructure projects in the State at that time, was completed on-time and on budget. At the same time, our hold baggage screening system was upgraded to a modern C3 standard and in late 2023, we opened a new electrical substation, completing the various electrical infrastructure improvements after the runway reconstruction.

Airports, like all large strategic infrastructural assets, go through cycles of reinvestment to ensure facilities are available on-time to meet future growth. Later this year, building work on a new mezzanine floor will start over our existing arrivals area to make way for a new, larger, state-of-the-art security screening area, a new executive lounge and an expanded duty-free shop, with more than 30% more space and a wider selection of local and international brands, supporting the Irish economy and to be completed by the end of next year.

Other exciting projects are being planned: a solar farm to generate 20% of the airport’s energy needs; additional boarding gates; and in due course, a significant pier extension to the main terminal building. Those projects (and more) will form part of a €200m Capital Development Plan which will be launched by Taoiseach Micheál Martin next month. It is another sign of daa Group’s commitment to Cork Airport to ensure that it grows sustainably and strongly into the next decade, and beyond.

We’re also making big strides to become more sustainable in the way we do our business. We’ve doubled the number of EV charging points. Efficient bins, using solar power and smart sensors, improve recycling and reduce waste collections.

We’ve enhanced the landscaping and improved the overall appearance of the airport campus, and we’ve added new electric vehicles to our own ground fleet for our maintenance, electrical, car parks, and airport police service teams.

We’ve introduced new building energy management software, which helps to save costs on lighting and heating our terminal. We have worked ahead to ensure that we meet the goal of reducing our carbon emissions and energy consumption by 51% before 2030. Cork Airport is recognised as Ireland’s top commercial semi-state for energy savings for the past two years by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI).

In recent weeks, the Government announced a review of the National Development Plan, to be completed by July 2025. The updated plan will form a key foundation of Ireland’s 2040 plan. The rate of growth in the south is expected to surpass that of the eastern region in the coming years. Our new €200m Capital Development Programme positions Cork Airport to continue to serve the people of the South of Ireland both economically and socially and facilitate better aviation counterbalancing with the eastern seaboard.

We’re incredibly proud to start out on this exciting journey, this next phase of our growth, to ensure that our city, our county and our region prospers into the future.

Niall MacCarthy is the Managing Director at Cork Airport, part of the daa Group