Waterford Airport sees surge in Christmas passengers

WATERFORD Airport has experienced a surge of passengers using the facility to get home for the Christmas holiday season.

It has been a busy few months for the regional airport, with Christmas shoppers travelling to and from London, Manchester and Birmingham.

According to chief-executive Graham Doyle, the airport has had a tremendously exciting year.

“2007 has been a milestone year for Waterford Airport. We operated seven routes over the summer and by mid-November, 100,000 passengers had passed through the airport — the first time the passenger numbers reached six figures within one year — and we expect passenger numbers to be 115,000 for the year, an increase of 42%,” he said.

“Earlier in the year, we secured capital funding of €22.3 million under Transport 21 towards our €28m capital programme to upgrading facilities and extend the runway. We have already put a number of projects in place and the detailed design work on the runway and other works will get under way early in 2008.

“With construction work to complete in early 2010, we see a very exciting future ahead,” he said.

He said business and tourism in Waterford and throughout the south-east should continue to benefit from the greater accessibility provided by an expanding airport.

Mr Doyle said he was confident growth can be maintained: “I believe we can look forward to 2008 as a year of continued growth, development and expansion of services for the travelling public.”