Last year was a record breaking year at Ireland West Airport Knock with passenger numbers exceeding 700,000 for the first time in the airport’s 29-year history.
In 2014, the annual number of passengers using the airport increased by over 38,000 to 703,324—an increase of nearly 6% on 2013 numbers. The airport now serves over twenty international destinations and is served by three of Europe’s major international airlines, Aer Lingus, Flybe and Ryanair.
August 2014 also saw the airport experience its busiest ever month with a total of 102,774 passengers passing through the terminal—the first time in the 290 year history that over 100,000 passengers have used the airport in a calendar month.
Last year saw a major increase in traffic to and from the UK, which represents the airport’s biggest market.
Particularly strong performers were Ryanair’s London services to Stansted and Luton, which carried an extra 44,000 passengers (20% increase), while Aer Lingus’s London Gatwich service grew by 6%. Flybe services to Manchester and Birmingham, also performed strongly with passenger numbers up nine per cent across both routes.
The strong increases on UK services highlight the importance of the airport from a regional perspective in providing essential connectivity for leisure, tourist and in particular in providing increased frequencies to the London market for those commuting to and from London for work purposes. Joe Gilmore, Managing Director at Ireland West Airport Knock, said: “We are delighted to have had a record year in 2014 with record numbers on almost all of our services, highlighting the airport’s importance as the main international gateway for the West and North West of Ireland and indeed the Wild Atlantic Way.”
