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Interesting Developments at Knock Airport

Posted on August 28, 2009 | Filed Under Environment, Planning 

We see in today’s Irish Times that the new landing system installed at Knock Airport has proved highly successful. Since its installation last April no flight has been diverted because of fog.

The new landing system together with other safety improvements were installed at a cost of €3.6 million.

“Scheduled flights from Ireland West (Knock Airport) now serve Dublin and Cork, as well as nine destinations in the UK, including London Gatwick, Stansted and Luton. A scheduled service also serves Alicante in Spain.

Charter services on the airport website include 10 locations from Portugal to eastern Europe.”

Clearly Knock has firmly established itself as The Regional Airport for the West, Northwest as well as part of the midlands and seems to be doing an excellent job.

Do we still think there is a need for two regional airports side by side? Is there a need for Sligo Airport to destroy Dorrins Strand? Is there a need to spend €10.0 million of taxpayer’s money on an airport that by virtue of its location will never become a sustainable piece of infrastructure?

We have to take care of our environment. It is long past time that the people in charge of our public finances took stock of the infrastructural needs in this region and began to target public spending more effectively and stop the profligate waste we saw during the Celtic Tiger years.

Contrary to some of the allegations made against our organisation, Dorrins and Cummeen Strand Group are very much in favour of economic development and we recognise the need for good infrastructure and its role in society. But it has to be sustainable development and infrastructure. Unlike some of the madness we have seen by unscrupulous developers in the last few years

Link to today’s Irish Times Article

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One Response to “Interesting Developments at Knock Airport”

  1. James R on September 8th, 2009 11:15 am

    Ireland West Airport had it’s busiest day ever last Friday according to the Irish Times with 5300 using the airport in one day, 81,000 in August alone. That’s twice Sligo’s annual passenger numbers in one month!

    Knock has a new terminal, new all weather landing system and the runway can support any size jet aircraft. Most importantly it has 4 scheduled low cost airlines and many holiday charter airlines providing a growing list of routes and has been commercially successful over the last 5 years without government subvention. We have the opportunity to support a high quality international airport in Ireland West that can provide the services we need to bring tourists into the NW region and support business / leisure connectivity.

    The Sligo airport management have admitted that the runway extension will not grow services from Sligo. If all the effort and money being thrown at the runway extension was aimed at getting the NRA/politicans to bring-forward the N17 Atlantic Corridor upgrades then Sligo would have a far better facility within 30 mins drive along with the benefits of improved road access and an unharmed coastline.

    We should be also lobby our politicians to provide bus services to Ireland West Airport, several Bus Eireann Sligo – Galway coaches pass the airport on the N17 every day without stopping, it would cost nothing to add the airport stop. Instead Bus Eireann continue to add services from Sligo to Dublin Airport 3 hrs away, ignoring any sort of sensible regional transport integration.

    It’s time for us all to wake up and look how we can make the most practical use of our limited resources to benefit the wider population.

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