Cork 2023: Cork Airport is flying upwards and onwards in sustainable way
With passenger numbers ahead of its pre-pandemic peak, Cork Airport is growing to meet future demands in both travel and sustainability
This year, Cork Airport expects to welcome more than 2.7 million passengers, a half a million increase compared to last year and ahead of the pre-pandemic peak of 2.6 million in 2019.
In fact, passenger numbers at Ireland’s Gateway to the South are tracking ahead of 2019 passenger figures on a month-by-month basis.
While recovery of traffic at Cork Airport has been remarkable, it is testament to the importance the airport plays in the wider Munster economy.
An economic impact study conducted by InterVISTAS in 2019 showed that Cork Airport contributed €904 million to the Irish GDP and the employment (both directly and indirectly) of 12,180 people in Ireland.
With its impact spanning across a range of industries, from tourism and hospitality to multinational pharmaceuticals and technology, Cork Airport is a linchpin for the Munster region, providing vital inbound access for foreign holidaymakers and international executives alike.
“Cork Airport is well known and valued by the travelling public in Cork and the surrounding counties for being clean, friendly and fast,” said Niall MacCarthy, managing director of Cork Airport. “In addition, low-cost car parking is available for booking online – within a seven-minute walk of the terminal building.
“When our airport was under the full burden of travel restrictions, the importance of Cork Airport to the tourism and wider business economy was so evident in the number of jobs dependent on the airport.
“Now that we are back beyond 2019 pre-pandemic levels, employment in the airport and all the surrounding and supporting businesses is booming, with companies hiring and expanding.”
The presence of some of the world’s biggest pharmaceutical and technology companies in the wider Cork region has grown significantly recently, and Cork Airport has grown in tandem.
Central to the business model at Cork Airport is the direct connectivity with some of Europe’s largest airport hubs. In research recently undertaken by Airports Council International Europe, the industry representative body of which Cork Airport is a member, the top ten airports (by traffic volume) for the month of April were listed.
Of the top 10, Cork Airport has direct services to six – London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Amsterdam Schiphol, Frankfurt, London Gatwick and Rome Fiumicino. This crucial direct connectivity, served by some of the world’s most recognisable airlines, allows inbound and outbound connectivity to practically all four corners of the world.
The convenience of Cork Airport is second to none. With three car parks all located within a 10-minute walk of the terminal building, swift security times and an overall pleasant airport ambience and experience, it’s no wonder Cork Airport is seeing such a strong rebound in traffic this year.
This summer, a total of 44 routes are on offer at Cork Airport to destinations in the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Portugal, The Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland and Croatia. Eight scheduled airlines operate services to and from Cork Airport – Ryanair, Aer Lingus, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France, Lufthansa, Edelweiss, Emerald Airlines and TUI.
As the airport grows and expands its route offering and connectivity, sustainability priorities remain front and centre. Cork Airport is fully committed to achieving the 2030 targets as set out by the Irish government.
With targets of a 51 per cent reduction of greenhouse gases and a 50 per cent improvement in energy efficiency, Cork Airport is well on track to meet those targets and will deliver on those improvements before 2030.
The airport has recently gone to tender on a new 1.8-million-kilowatt solar farm, designed to provide 25 per cent of the airport’s electricity requirements in the future. Cork Airport was ranked as the “best performing commercial semi-state body” for energy reduction by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland in its annual report on public sector energy efficiency issued last year.
Furthermore, Cork Airport has taken delivery of new all-electric operational, engineering, maintenance and security vehicles in the past month and continues to prioritise the upgrade of its fleet to sustainable, zero-emission vehicles.
As a valued member of DAA Group, Cork Airport continues to go from strength to strength. Recent investments by DAA in major capital projects, including that of the full runway reconstruction, the upgrade of hold baggage screening infrastructure and the construction of a new electrical substation, are testament to the support that Cork Airport enjoys by being part of the wider DAA Group.
MacCarthy, who is vice-chairperson of the Irish Tourism Industry Confederation, said: “I recognise the importance of tourism to Ireland’s economy.
“People don’t realise that tourism is now Ireland’s largest indigenous employer and overtook agriculture quite a number of years ago. Airports to an island economy are the critical enabler and partner to the tourism industry.”
Cork Airport has weaved an indelible role in the industrial, commercial and tourism fabric of the Munster region over the past 61 years and will continue to be a key contributor to the regional and national economy in the years to come.
