Ireland West Airport

Ireland West Airport () , officially known as Ireland West Airport Knock, and formerly known as Horan International Airport, commonly known as Knock Airport, is an international airport south-west of Charlestown, County Mayo, Ireland. The village of Knock is away. 818,000 passengers used the airport in 2023, making it the fourth-busiest in the Republic of Ireland (after Dublin, Cork and Shannon).

History

Foundation and early years

The airport opened on 25 October 1985 with three Aer Lingus charter flights to Rome: the official opening was on 30 May 1986. the story of which has even inspired a musical. The primary motivation for building it was to attract pilgrims to Knock Shrine. Despite criticisms that the site was too boggy and too foggy, Horan delivered an airport within five years, primarily financed by a Government grant of £9.8 million. He died shortly after the opening of the airport, and his funeral was held at the then-named Horan International Airport.

In recent times, Horan has been celebrated with a bronze statue erected at the airport.

By 1988, over 100,000 passengers had passed through. Aer Lingus commenced flights from the airport to Birmingham in 1995.

A record 629,000 passengers used the airport in 2008, a 13% rise compared to the previous year. August 2009 was the busiest month for three years, with 81,000 passengers: 28 August was the busiest day in the airport's history, with over 4,500 passengers.

In 2011, the month of August was the busiest in the airport's history with 84,052 passengers. 2011 was the most successful year to date with 654,553 passengers. The year saw the commencement of routes to Lanzarote, Tenerife and Gran Canaria operated by Ryanair and to Edinburgh operated by flybe. During September 2011 Ryanair celebrated its four-millionth passenger through the airport, while Lufthansa announced it would be commencing weekly flights to Düsseldorf in May 2012. In November 2011, Ryanair announced flights to Beauvais-Tillé, Frankfurt-Hahn, Bergamo-Orio al Serio and Girona-Costa Brava from March 2012. In January 2012 the 20th scheduled route was announced—flybe to Leeds, its third from the airport, from March 2012. Budget carrier BmiBaby announced in May 2012 that it was to axe its only route to Birmingham from 10 June, owing to the airline's takeover by IAG. Flights to Beauvais-Tillé and Frankfurt-Hahn have since ended.

In 2013, Ryanair launched a weekly summer route to Málaga on Thursdays. Aer Lingus Regional, which took over the Birmingham route operating a daily service using ATR 72s ended service on 26 October. Flybe began four-times-weekly flights on the route on 27 October. On 31 October 2013, in response to the scrapping of the Irish travel tax, Ryanair unveiled three new routes from Knock to Glasgow-Prestwick, Kaunas and Eindhoven. However, these routes had all been withdrawn by the fourth quarter of 2014.

It was announced in November 2017 that €15 million would be invested in improving and upgrading the airport in 2018 and 2019, to coincide with strong passenger growth. These plans include upgrading of car parks, passenger facilities, the terminal and resurfacing of the runway.

Government assistance

The building of the airport was primarily financed by Government grants totaling IR£9.858 million. The completion of the airport was funded by a IR£1.3 million grant from the European Union, payable on condition that the airport developers provided an equal sum from their own resources.

On 21 February 2007, the Government of Ireland announced that it was making a €27 million capital grant. The airport stated that it would continue the implementation of its €46 million infrastructural investment programme with over €20 million of spend anticipated for 2008. Work commenced on a number of significant civil and building projects in this year. A €5.5 million extension to the terminal building was completed in April 2009. The implementation of Category II Instrument Landing System (CAT II ILS) on runway 27, to enhance reliability in low visibility, has been completed and approved. An extension to the Runway End Safety Areas (RESAs) and runway turnpad was completed in March 2009.

Departing passengers aged 12 years and over pay a "Development Fee" of €10. The fee is a critical contribution to the ongoing sustainability of the airport and provides a vital funding source to support the ongoing development works of the airport.

In 2005, the airport changed its name to Ireland West Airport Knock. As of August 2009, the Aeronautical Information Publication, including the aeronautical charts available at European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, showed it as Ireland West.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate scheduled and charter flights to and from Ireland West Airport: