Waterford Airport

Waterford Airport
Aerfort Phort Láirge

IATA: WAT – ICAO: EIWF

WAT

Location of Waterford Airport in Ireland

Summary
Airport type Public
Operator Waterford Regional Airport
Serves Waterford, Ireland
Location Killowen
Elevation AMSL 119 ft / 36 m
Coordinates 52°11′14″N 007°05′13″W / 52.18722°N 7.08694°WCoordinates: 52°11′14″N 007°05′13″W / 52.18722°N 7.08694°W
Website www.waterfordairport.ie
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 1,433 (1,585) 4,701 (5,200) Asphalt
Statistics (2014)
Passengers 33,189
Passenger change 13–14 Increase17.8%
Sources: Airport website,[1] Irish AIS[2]Passengers[3]

Waterford Airport (Irish: Aerfort Phort Láirge) (IATA: WAT, ICAO: EIWF), is 4 NM (7.4 km; 4.6 mi)[2] south-east of Waterford. It is in Killowen near Waterford City serving the south-east of Ireland. The airport is operated by Waterford Regional Airport plc. In 2013 28,168 passengers passed through the airport.

History and development

Airport development was initiated by Waterford Corporation with support from the Government of Ireland and the private sector in 1979–1980. The investment was £1.76 million.

1981–2006

The airport opened in 1981 with a 1,200 by 29 m (3,937 by 95 ft) runway for single and twin-engine light aircraft and a portable cabin as terminal building. In 1992 the current terminal building was opened and the runway expanded to 1,433 by 30 m (4,701 by 98 ft).

Avair provided the first domestic passenger service in 1982 to Dublin, which originated in Cork. In 1985 Ryanair launched the company's first international scheduled service from Waterford to London Gatwick, before upgrading and switching the service to London Luton.

Between 1987 and 1988 Aer Lingus operated services to Dublin. During 1993 Orient Air operated services to Gloucestershire, London Luton and Jersey. From 1993 to 2000 Manx Airlines flew to London Stansted and Manchester.

Between 1994 and 1999, Suckling Airways operated to London Luton, and during 1996 Emerald Airways operated services to Liverpool. From 2001 to 2003 Euroceltic Airways flew to London Luton, Liverpool and Dublin.

2006–2013

In 2006 Waterford Airport celebrated 21 years of scheduled operations.

On 13 March 2007 a €27.5 million upgrade of Waterford Airport was announced. Over the next two years the money was be spent on extending the runway to 7,300 ft in length, building a new passenger terminal capable of handling one million passengers a year and introducing scheduled flights to European cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Prague and Rome. There was also an expectation of charter flights to Mediterranean holiday resorts. The expansion would mean that air travellers in the southeast of Ireland would have a "credible alternative" to Dublin and Cork airports, according to officials at Waterford Airport. According to the chief executive of Waterford Airport, Graham Doyle, the extended runway was to be in place by summer 2009 and capable of handling large jet aircraft, including the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737".[4]

On 14 May 2007 Aer Arann announced that they would open up a base in Waterford Airport and they also announced services to Birmingham. The airline based an ATR 72-201 at Waterford Airport to operate the services. On the same day Aer Arann announced three new international routes from Waterford to Bordeaux, Faro, Malaga.[5]

On 10 January 2008 Aer Arann announced the return of the summer routes to Bordeaux, Faro, Málaga with a new service to Amsterdam.[6] On 16 January 2009 all these services were suspended in a cost-saving programme announced by Aer Arann as due to the downturn in passenger traffic.

The fully upgraded and remodelled connecting regional road, R708, from Waterford city to the airport was completed in early July 2008, reducing the journey time from Waterford city centre to the airport to 10 minutes at off-peak times and from the outer ring road, R470, to the airport to 5 minutes.

Passengers numbers through Waterford Airport in 2009 slumped, due to routes being suspended to Bordeaux, Faro, Malaga and Amsterdam and service reductions on routes to Birmingham, London Luton and Manchester. Overall passenger numbers from the UK fell by 9%.[7]

In February 2010 a Economic Impact Assessment of Waterford Airport was published which highlighted the importance of Waterford Airport to the South East. Waterford Airport is key to the economy of the South East region and its set to play a more vital role in promoting business, tourism and the region's economic development in the future.[8] On 9 March 2010 Transport Minister Noel Dempsey announced there would be no funding for the runway extension at the airport, due to difficulties with the public finances and that security and safety were a priority which are going ahead.[9]

Aer Arann ATR 72-201 in Waterford

On 12 May 2010 Aer Arann announced an expansion of services from Waterford to London and Galway. The airline said that there was high demand for services to London Luton and that the load factors of the Galway flights was very high. This was a welcome boost for the airport as passenger numbers were down as a result of the downturn.

On 14 March 2012 Aer Arann transferred all of its Waterford routes into the Aer Lingus Regional brand, effective from 25 March 2012. Flybe launched a daily service to Birmingham on 25 March 2012. In November 2012 Aer Arann and Aer Lingus Regional announced the closure of all services from Waterford effective from January 6, 2013.[10] Flybe will continue to operate 4 times weekly to Birmingham. Waterford hope to gain back some services particularly flights to London.

Flybe announced a route to Manchester starting 22 May 2013, which was dropped by Aer Lingus Regional on 6 January.

Future

On 12 August 2013 it was reported that a 150m extension of the runway would be funded by the Department of Transport up to a limit of €400,000. This may allow new types of aircraft to use the runway in the hope of gaining services to London after Aer Arann removed them from their network in January 2013. The airport itself will have to raise the remaining €850,000 for it to take place.

Flybe has indicated that the services to Waterford will be in place until at least 2015. However, the flights to Manchester terminated by 24 October 2014.[11] On 11 December 2014, Flybe announced it would cease operating to Waterford as the flights to Birmingham are scheduled to end on 27 March 2015. On the same day, Waterford County Council granted a 350 metre phased runway extension, it is understood that this will be constructed in 2015.

On 9 March 2015, VLM Airlines announced that it will take up a 12 weekly service to London Luton and a 4 weekly service to Birmingham. Flights are due to start on the 27 April 2015.

Facilities

Waterford Airport has four check-in desks, an information desk, two boarding gates and two baggage carousels. The airport has two hundred car-parking spaces. Free WiFi is available within the airport terminal. There are two snack bars in the airport: one before security and one in the departures hall. There are also car rental services, a taxi service rank, First Aid, Baby/Parent Room, and Disabled Access/Facilities.

Airlines and destinations

Airlines Destinations
VLM Airlines Birmingham, London-Luton

Statistics

Passenger numbers
Year Passengers [P] % Change [P] Movements [M] % Change [M] Carriers
2003 24,000 Increase12% - -
2004 55,000 Increase22% - -
Aer Arann
2005 71,000 Increase13% - -
Aer Arann
2006 85,000 Increase12% 23,724 -
Aer Arann
2007 116,000 Increase13% 30,156 Increase21%
Aer Arann
2008 144,000 Increase12% 29,811 Decrease1%
Aer Arann
2009 112,000[12] Decrease11% - -
Aer Arann
2010 104,000 Decrease7% - -
Aer Arann
2011 69,942 Decrease32% - -
Aer Arann
2012 78,393 Increase12% - -
2013 28,168[13] Decrease63.8% - -
Flybe
2014 33,189 Increase17.8% - -
Flybe

Ground transportation

Car

The airport is on the R708 road which can be accessed from the R710 outer ring road in Waterford. Car hire is available in the arrivals hall of the terminal building, with two car rental companies. There are 200 car parking spaces outside the terminal. Cars may only be parked during the airport opening hours and vehicles can not be accessed outside of airport opening hours. As Waterford is bypassed it is very easy to reach the airport from Dungarvan, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford. After reaching the outer ring road three major primary routes can be accessed from Waterford, towards New Ross, Dublin, and Cork.

Other transportation connections

The nearest bus and coach station is 10km away in Waterford from where Bus Éireann provides services to Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Rosslare Europort, Wexford, Clonmel and Tramore. JJ Kavanagh offers connections to Dublin Airport, Carlow and Tramore as well. Dublin Coach provides a direct service to Dublin city via Kilkenny. There is also a railway station in Waterford offering services to Limerick via Tipperary, and Dublin Heuston via Kilkenny and Carlow.

Companies based at Waterford Airport

See also

References

  1. ↑ Waterford Airport, official site
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 EIWF – WATERFORD (PDF). AIP and charts from the Irish Aviation Authority.
  3. ↑ http://www.kildarestreet.com/wrans/?id=2014-02-18a.1950
  4. ↑ Waterford Airport welcomes capital investment of €27.5 million
  5. ↑ http://www.aerarann.com/about_us/news2007.htm#waterford
  6. ↑ http://www.aerarann.com/about_us/news2008.htm#100108
  7. ↑
  8. ↑
  9. ↑ "No funds for airport runway extension | Munster Express Online". Munster-express.ie. 2010-03-12. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  10. ↑ 05/11/2012 - 11:14:29 (2013-01-06). "Aer Arann to suspend Waterford services". BreakingNews.ie. Retrieved 2014-05-12.
  11. ↑ http://www.flybe.com/timetableClassic/timetable.jsp?selDep=WAT&selDest=XXX
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ http://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/er/as/aviationstatistics2013/#.U-N6SPldWwU

External links

Media related to Waterford Airport at Wikimedia Commons