Kerry Airport (; ), often called Farranfore Airport, is an international airport in Farranfore, County Kerry, Ireland. It is north In 2024, Kerry Airport handled 417,409 passengers.
History
Foundation and early years
Kerry Airport was incorporated as a public limited company in July 1968, with its main objective of building and managing an airport at Farranfore. Various share capital fundraising programmes were undertaken and, together with great assistance from the various statutory bodies over the years, the airport has developed from a runway of 1,090 metres x 23 metres commissioned in 1969, to a runway of 1,239m x 30m commissioned in 1989, and a new runway of 2,000m x 45m opened in May 1994.
The first aircraft to land at Kerry Airport, on 25 August 1969, was piloted by Captain Milo Carr of the Department of Transport and Power. For a number of years the only aircraft using the aerodrome were light private aircraft and the occasional charter or cargo flight; extensive parachuting also took place. The first scheduled service was inaugurated in July 1979, using an Islander aircraft operated by Aer Arann.
Encouraged by the apparent success of other regional airports in Ireland, the board of directors drew up a development plan to lengthen and widen the runway to 1,200m x 30m and to extend and upgrade the terminal buildings and to install an Instrument Landing System and appropriate lighting.
Development since the 2000s
The Government of Ireland has previously subsidised regional services under a PSO programme. A tender is offered for airlines to provide a minimum level of service in return for subsidy and a monopoly of the route. The tender is published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Aer Arann were re-awarded the PSO for the 2005 offer programme but in 2008 it was awarded to Ryanair.
thumb|The interior of Kerry Airport bar and restaurant
The airport is a public limited company, but is not quoted on any stock exchange. It had an operating profit of €179,329 in 2009 on a turnover of €6,252,221. This represented a fall of 32% from the previous financial year. The operating profit for the year 2015 was €30,980.
In January 2011, it was announced that 20 of the airport's 65 staff would be made redundant, owing to a fall in passenger numbers following Ryanair's withdrawal from its public service obligation (PSO) contract.
It was announced in February 2012 that, owing to the codeshare agreement with Aer Lingus, the currently operated Dublin service with Aer Arann would be operated from 30 October 2012 under the brand Aer Lingus Regional. Aer Arann was later rebranded as Stobart Air. Passenger numbers on the Dublin route operated by Aer Lingus Regional, increased by 13.5% in 2014.
thumb|View of the terminal from within a plane readying to depart
In January 2018 Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Stobart Air, following a public tendering process was awarded a Public Service Obligation contract, linking the airport with Dublin, for the next four years. However, Stobart Air collapsed part way through. Ryanair subsequently picked up the route, this time on a commercial basis with no subsidy.
In January 2020, Ryanair announced they would commence a twice weekly flight to Manchester from 29 March 2020, every Thursday and Sunday.
Planning permission was granted in 2023 for a new two-storey extension to the terminal, additional departure gate, new arrivals & baggage reclaim area.
Airlines and destinations
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The following airlines operate scheduled flights to and from Kerry Airport: