MANAGEMENT at Kerry Airport are inviting airlines to make good use of available slots in Farranfore to help ease the pressure at Dublin Airport where a passenger cap is currently in place.
The Airport facilitated transatlantic aircraft under similar circumstances in 2023 and would be a most suitable option again with the twice daily flights between Kerry and Dublin being extremely popular with passengers.
Kerry Airport is connected to three other major European cities – London and Manchester in the UK and Frankfurt in Germany – and it is capable of servicing the additional passengers, aircraft and crew.
Passenger numbers for 2024 are on course to match the record levels recorded in 2023 when 419,281 people passed through the Airport.
The CEO of Kerry Airport, John Mulhern, said, “Kerry Airport is an important strategic asset to County Kerry and the wider Munster region in strengthening transportation links both nationally and internationally. In excess of 25% of jobs in Kerry are directly dependent on the tourism and hospitality sectors and many more in business because of our airport connectivity. There are no ‘caps’ in Kerry other than the tweed kind.
“Kerry Airport facilitates vibrant regional commerce, enables the movement of workers, drives business innovation and investment, and is of particular importance to many of the fastest-growing sectors of the economy based in Kerry. You can do business in Kerry, case in point Astellas Pharma, who recently commenced construction of a €330m facility generating 300 construction jobs and 100 highly specialised roles in engineering, science and technology.
“I don’t agree with those who suggest that most visitors only want to fly directly to Dublin for tourism. In fact, many tell us they would prefer to fly directly to Kerry and statistics from Tourism Ireland and others demonstrate that very significant proportions of overseas visitors choose Kerry for their vacation. The emergence of the Wild Atlantic Way as a destination in itself has successfully attracted great numbers of visitors to this part of the country.
“In this era of excessive urban growth, isn’t it time to shift the flow of people a little? I don’t have to fly to Dublin to visit Kerry, I can fly to Kerry to visit Dublin.”
Kerry Airport is proud to have acted as an economic driver and continues to have a major impact on the social and economic infrastructure of the region whilst helping to sustain and create employment.
Meanwhile, the Tender process is underway with work on an expansion project at Kerry Airport projected to begin later this year and be completed for the Summer of 2025. All going to plan, it will involve increasing the size of the Departures Lounge, adding additional customer facilities, and developing a purpose-built Arrivals Hall which will include the necessary facilities for customs and immigration.
Kerry Airport is ideally located for anyone wishing to travel on business or pleasure with direct flights to: Dublin, London-Stansted, London-Luton, Manchester, Frankfurt-Hahn, Alicante & Faro with Ryanair and to three destinations in France – Brest in Brittany, Caen in Normandy and Pau near the Pyrénées – with Chalair. For more information visit www.kerryairport.ie.
