Kerry Airport has invited airlines to make 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 management said it would be a most suitable option again with the twice daily flights between Kerry and Dublin proving 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 Farranfore facility.
CEO of Kerry Airport, John Mulhern, said Kerry Airport is an important strategic asset to the wider Munster region in strengthening transportation links both nationally and internationally.
“In excess of 25 per cent of jobs in Kerry are directly dependent on the tourism and hospitality sectors and many more in business because of our airport connectivity,” he said.
Mr Mulhern said 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.
“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 CEO stated.
“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,” he added.
Meanwhile, the tendering 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. 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.
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