Knock Airport rejuvenated by low-cost carriers
A record number of passengers are flying in and out of Knock International Airport this Christmas, it emerged today.
The County Mayo Airport was criticised as a white elephant when it opened on a former bog in 1986.
But passenger numbers have increased by 15% this Christmas from 15,000 to 19,000 and by 50% for the year as a whole – from 250,000 to 375,000.
The sales and marketing manger Dermot O’Flynn said the profile of people using the airport during the festive period had totally changed.
“Knock is no longer the Wailing Wall of Jerusalem in terms of the emigrants. The low cost airlines have transformed all that. What we see now is the frequency and repeatability of people using the airport.”
He said Knock had airlines like Aer Arann, Ryanair, Easyjet and BMI Baby flying daily to London, Liverpool and Manchester.
There are also a number of charters over the festive season bringing local people on skiing holidays in Andorra and sun holidays in Lanzarote.
“We’re still pretty conservative as a nation in terms of Christmas. But that’s changing,” said Mr O’Flynn.
“People want to do something a bit weird and wonderful. As people get more comfortable with spending Christmas overseas, more of this will happen.”
Knock has also benefited from its location off the N17 primary route, which was recently upgraded, and its large catchment area.
The airport recently spent €2m to provide a new departure lounge and new check-in facilities.
Next year (2005), it will build a landing ramp which will allow it to service more planes on the ground.
It is hoping to increase its passenger numbers to over 500,000.
Mr O’Flynn said the airport’s 2,300 metre runway, which was seen at the time as far too long, allowed it to land any size of airplane.
“We’re a few years away from fights to the US because of the bi-lateral arrangements but it’s on the radar for us.”
The man behind the opening of Knock airport in 1986 was a local priest, Monsignor Denis Horan.
He saw it as a way of boosting economic growth in the West and also the number of pilgrimages to the Marian Shrine in Knock.
Despite political opposition, his campaign was supported by the then Taoiseach Charles Haughey, who gave the airport a grant of 10 million pounds.
At a ceremony to unveil a statue of the late Monsignor in 1996, Mr Haughey claimed the airport represented a triumph of vision and idealism over cynicism and defeatism.
