Airport ‘must expand range of destinations’

The new chief executive of Waterford Airport has identified the need to expand the facility’s range of destinations, particularly London, as a priority.

The board of Waterford Airport has appointed Desmond O’Flynn to the top job. He was formerly director of Aéroport de Dijon-Bourgogne in France.

His appointment follows the recent departure of Graham Doyle who held the role of chief executive for six years and comes at a time of challenges for the south-east airport.

It currently only has one airline, Flybe, providing services following the decision by Aer Lingus Regional to end its routes to the UK.

However, the Government has backed the airport by providing funds to upgrade its facilities.

“I am delighted to have been selected to lead the next phase of development at Waterford Airport,” Mr O’Flynn said yesterday.

“In common with other regional airports, Waterford has been seriously challenged by the economic environment over the last five years but good leadership has brought it through that and the opportunity is now there to move forward with development.”

He has held senior management roles at Ireland West Airport in Knock and at Aéroport de Deauville-Normandie and will take up the role in Waterford from the middle of November.

Mr O’Flynn said he was encouraged by the commitment to the airport shown by Transport Minister Leo Varadkar via money to improve safety and allow management to explore options for extending the runway.

“Clearly, we need to expand the range of destinations that Waterford is connected to,” he said.

“At the moment, business and leisure passengers make good use of the existing Flybe routes to Birmingham and Manchester but there remains considerable demand for a resumption of direct services to one of the main London airports.”

He said he also wants to drive progress on infrastructural investment “so that the facilities here match our ambition”.

Announcing Mr O’Flynn’s appointment, airport board chairman Dan Browne described him as “an experienced person” who has worked in the sector both at home and in Europe.

“Desmond joins at an important time for Waterford Airport and I know that he is looking forward to working with the team here to develop the business further and to seize the opportunities that exist to grow the business in a sustainable way.”