Cork International Airport

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Cork International Airport is one of Ireland's principal airports, situated on the south side of Cork City in an area known as Ballygarvan. The airport is currently operated by Dublin Airport Authority. Cork Airport handles scheduled and charter flights to domestic and European destinations as well as cargo services and general aviation. As the airport had over 2.730 million passengers pass through its doors in 2005, it makes it Ireland's second busiest airport, after Dublin. Aer Lingus and Aer Arann are the largest operators at Cork Airport by number of aircraft movements. Aer Lingus and Ryanair are the largest operators by number of passengers. It acts as a main European hub for both Ryanair and Aer Lingus.

1 Operator
2 History
3 Ground Transportation
4 Airlines and Destinations
5 Cargo airlines
6 External links

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Operator

From its opening in 1961 the airport was managed by the Department of Transport and Power. Aer Rianta took control of Cork and Shannon airports on April 1, 1969 and the assets of the airports were transferred to the company under the Air Navigation and Transport (Amendment) Act, 1998. The name of Aer Rianta was changed to the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) under the State Airports Act 2004, which also created the Cork Airport Authority and the Shannon Airport Authority. These companies were charged with preparing a business plan in preparation for taking over the assets of their airports from the DAA not earlier than May 2005. As of December 2005, the handover has not yet taken place.

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History

In 1957 the Irish Government agreed in principle to the building of an airport for Cork City. After viewing many sites in the area it was agreed that the airport should be built at Ballygarvan. Tenders were invited for the construction of the airport in 1959 at an estimated cost of £1million. The airport was officially opened on October 16, 1961. However, proving flights by Aer Lingus and Cambrian Airways (later taken over by British Airways) had taken place four days earlier. In its first year the airport handled 10,172 passengers - currently the equivalent of a single busy day at the airport. Throughout the 1960s the airport expanded with more advanced aircraft and more destinations. The first jet, a BOAC Comet, landed at Cork Airport on March 29, 1964. By 1969 Aer Lingus were operating to London Heathrow, Manchester and Bristol.

On August 27, 1970 a unique event occurred. Due to adverse weather conditions at Shannon Airport and Dublin Airport Aer Lingus' transatlantic fleet (three Boeing 707s from New York, Boston and Chicago) were diverted to Cork. In 1972 the Duty Free shop opened for service. In 1975 Aer Rianta undertook a passenger terminal study aimed at improving the terminal facilities. The findings resulted in the provision, over the next couple of years, of new departure and arrival halls, new check-in area and office complex, new information desk and duty office and new VIP Lounge. In 1977 a Duty-free shop was opened, while the following year completed extensions and facilities were officially opened.

The 1980s began with an extension of the main apron being built. New services to London Gatwick began while Aer Lingus' commuter division started a new internal service to Dublin Airport. In 1985 due to huge growth at the airport Aer Rianta carried out a survey of the terminal facilities with a view to carrying out a major expansion and development programme. On June 8, 1987 Ryanair began a new service at Cork Airport. In 1988 Phase 1 of the Terminal Expansion and Development Plan completed. The following year the main runway extension of 1000 feet was opened.

The 1990s began with the completion of Phase II of the Terminal expansion in 1991 and Phase III being completed in 1992. The Terminal Expansion and Development Plan was completed in 1994. Duty free sales for travel within the European Union, a substantial income stream, ceased in 1999 but were retained for travellers to final destinations outside the EU.

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The Aer Rianta run Great Southern Hotels opened a hotel on the airport campus in 2001. The first phase of the newest expansion, estimated at 140 million euro was launched in 2003. The project is providing a new air traffic control building, a multistory car park, a cargo village and a new second passenger terminal with one sole airbridge or jetways , north of the existing terminal and is to be opened in May 2006. Cork will be the only airport in Europe to have only one airbridge when it opens. This extension will bring annual capacity up to 5 million passengers (Cork handled 2.730 million passengers in 2005).

A charter service from Cork to JFK, New York was planned using 210-seat Boeing 757 equipment for Autumn 2005 but an increase in the cost per seat charged by the charter company forced the cancellation of the service prior to the first trip.

An ongoing problem for the airport is adverse weather. The airport is equipped with a Category II Instrument Landing System but weather conditions are frequently below the minimum requirements for a Cat II landing, causing diversions to Shannon, Kerry or Dublin

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Ground Transportation

Regular city buses connect to Cork Bus Station in about 25 minutes. The service to Kinsale also calls at the airport.

Cork airport has no railway station. Kent Station is across the River Lee from Cork Bus Station.

The airport is also served by taxi and car hire companies.

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Airlines and Destinations

The following scheduled airlines use Cork International Airport (as of April 2006):

Aer Arann (Angers, Cardiff (from April 24), Belfast City, Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, Jersey, Lorient, Newquay (from April 29), Southampton)
Aer Lingus (Alicante, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin-Schönefeld, Birmingham (UK), Faro, London-Heathrow, Malaga, Nice, Paris-CDG, Rome-Fiumicino, Tenerife, Warsaw)
Air Malta (Malta)
Air Wales (Cardiff, Exeter, Newquay) [All Air Wales operations will cease from April 23rd.]
bmi (Leeds-Bradford)
- bmibaby (Birmingham (UK), Durham, Manchester)
British Airways
- Loganair (Glasgow)
CSA Czech Airlines (Prague)
easyJet (London-Gatwick)
Jet2.com (Newcastle)
Malév (Budapest)
Ryanair (Dublin, Liverpool, London-Gatwick, London-Stansted)
Wizz Air (Katowice)

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Cargo airlines

Cargo plays a vital role in the future of Cork Airport. A new cargo village, south of the airport, on 40 acres, will be developed to serve existing and new cargo customers. Four cargo airlines are currently based at Cork Airport, serving the European markets daily. These are:

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