- Ireland West Airport Knock
-
Ireland West Airport Knock
Aerfort Iarthar Éireann
IATA: NOC – ICAO: EIKN Location of airport in Ireland
NOCSummary Airport type Public Owner/Operator Connacht Airport Development Company Ltd Serves Connacht, Ireland Location Charlestown Elevation AMSL 665 ft / 203 m Coordinates 53°54′37″N 008°49′07″W / 53.91028°N 8.81861°WCoordinates: 53°54′37″N 008°49′07″W / 53.91028°N 8.81861°W Website Runways Direction Length Surface m ft 09/27 2,340 7,700 Asphalt Source: Irish AIS[1] Ireland West Airport Knock (Irish: Aerfort Iarthar Éireann) is an airport located 3 NM (5.6 km; 3.5 mi)[1] south-west of Charlestown, County Mayo, Ireland. 630,000 passengers used the airport in 2008.[2] The airport was formerly known as Knock International Airport, Connacht Regional Airport, and Horan International Airport. Connaught Aero Club[3] and Shoreline Aviation are based at the airport.
Contents
History
The airport was officially opened on 30 May 1986, however the first commercial flights operated seven months earlier on 25 October 1985 in the form of three Aer Lingus charter flights to Rome.[4] The opening followed a long campaign by Monsignor James Horan.[4] The airport was intended to bring employment to an impoverished corner of Ireland, as well as allow pilgrims to visit the nearby Roman Catholic Knock Shrine which commemorates an apparition of the Virgin Mary in 1879.
Ryanair commenced flights to London Luton during 1986, with a route to London Stansted added in 1992. By 1988, over 100,000 passengers had passed through the airport. In 1995 Aer Lingus commenced flights to Birmingham.[4]
In June 2003 hundreds of people gathered at Knock International Airport to view a Boeing 747 land with 500 returning pilgrims from Lourdes. It was the second 747 to land at Knock.[citation needed]
Recent years
Since 2003, low-cost and regional airlines including MyTravelLite, Bmibaby, Ryanair, Aer Arann and EasyJet have added several daily flights linking the airport with UK destinations, and though not all routes proved successful by 2005 the airport was handling 500,000 passengers per annum.[4]
Knock was voted Ireland's best regional airport in 2009 and again in 2006 by the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland.[4]
2007 was a record year for the airport, with scheduled transatlantic services to New York and Boston commenced during May 2007, operated by the now defunct airline Flyglobespan.[5]
In 2008 a record 629,000 passengers used the airport, a 13% rise compared to the previous year.[4]
Since the installation of the Category II | Instrument Landing System in April 2009 and up to January 2010, only five flights had been diverted to other airports due to poor visibility conditions.[6]
In recent years Ryanair have grown operations at the airport and is the largest airline to serve the airport with 12 scheduled routes. Ryanair commenced a service to Alicante in June 2009, the airport's first scheduled continental European service.[7] Ryanair added Faro and Reus (Barcelona) routes in May 2010[8]
August 2009 was the busiest month in the airport for three years, with 81,000 passengers using the airport. Also, the 28th of August was the busiest day in the airport's history with over 4,500 passengers using the facility on that day.
In 2011, the month of August was the busiest in the airport's history with 84,052 passengers using the airport. 2011 is expected to be the busiest year since the establishment of the facility. [9]
On September 12th 2011 Ryanair celebrated the airlines 4 millionth passenger through the airport. [10]
On September 14th 2011, Lufthansa announced it would be commencing weekly flights between Düsseldorf and Knock from 7 May 2012. [11]
Government assistance
On 21 February 2007, the Government of Ireland announced that it was giving €27 million of capital grant money to Ireland West Airport.
The Airport has stated that it will continue the implementation of its €46 million infrastructural investment programme with over €20 million of spend anticipated for 2008. Work will commence 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. A extension to the apron will see this more than double in size has commenced. The implementation of Category II Instrument Landing System (CAT II ILS) on runway 27, which will enhance the reliability of the Airport in low visibility conditions, is completed and approved. An extension to the Runway Ends Safety Areas (RESAs) and runway turnpad was completed in 2008. The airport expects to install a cat 1 ILS on runway 09 with a cat 3 lighting system in 2010-2011.
An additional "Development Fee" of €10 is charged to all departing passengers aged 12 years and over.
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, show as Ireland West.[1]
Airlines and destinations
Note: † denotes charter airlines and their destinations
Airlines Destinations Aer Lingus London-Gatwick Air Europa † Seasonal: Lanzarote Bmibaby Birmingham Flybe Edinburgh, Manchester Flybe operated by Loganair † Sumburgh Lufthansa Regional operated by Eurowings Seasonal: Düsseldorf [begins 12 May][13] Ryanair Beauvais [begins 27 March], East Midlands, Hahn [begins 27 March], Lanzarote, Liverpool, London-Luton, London-Stansted, Tenerife-South
Seasonal: Alicante, Bergamo [begins 25 March], Bristol, Faro, Girona [begins 27 March], Gran CanariaGround transport
- Bus
Bus Éireann currently provide services from the Airport on the Derry-Sligo-Galway and Galway-Sligo-Derry Route 64,[14] Ireland West Airport Knock - Castlebar - Westport - Achill Island route 440,[15] Dublin - Athlone - Ireland West Airport Knock - Westport route 21,[16] and connects with Dublin - Mullingar - Longford - Ballina route 22[17] via Charlestown.
- Taxi
The airport is also served by taxis. There is a taxi rank located outside the arrivals/departures entrance. To pre-book see www.knockairporttaxis.com.
- Road
Ireland West Airport Knock is conveniently located on the main N17 North – South road, halfway between Galway and Sligo. It is also close to the junction of the East - West N5 Westport-Castlebar-Longford road.
- Train
The nearest railway station to Ireland West Airport Knock is Ballyhaunis, accessible by airport cabs or bus services.
- Car Hire
Car hire is available in the main concourse - terminal building, with eight car rental firms located at the airport.
- Car Parking
The airport has over 1,500 accessible car parking spaces for short-term and long-term parking outside the main terminal.
Passenger statistics
See also: List of the busiest airports in Ireland- Passenger numbers by year
Year Passengers Rank in Ireland Rank in Republic of Ireland 1987 55,000 1988 117,000 1989 145,000 1990 146,000 1991 101,000 1992 106,000 1993 108,000 1994 130,000 1995 137,912 1996 161,435 1997 172,070 1998 186,689 1999 197,358 2000 173,421 2001 203,000 2002 199,000 2003 247,000 2004 373,000 2005 530,084 6 4 2006 621,171 6 4 2007 556,357 6 4 2008 629,000 6 4 2009 607,228 6 4 2010 589,180 6 4 Busiest routes
Busiest routes to and from Ireland West Airport Knock (2010)[18] Rank Airport Airline Passengers 1 
London Stansted
Ryanair98,760 2 London Luton Ryanair73,929 3 London Gatwick Aer Lingus67,506 4 Liverpool Ryanair61,259 5 Manchester bmibaby47,885 6 East Midlands Ryanair43,074 7 Birmingham bmibaby41,934 8 
Faro Ryanair / 
Charter35,699 9 Bristol Ryanair29,536 10 
Alicante Ryanair24,654 11 Leeds-Bradford Ryanair20,973 12 Barcelona-Reus Ryanair20,233 13 Lanzarote Charter7,185 14 Dublin Aer Arann6,978 15 
Lourdes Charter4,329 Busiest routes to and from Ireland West Airport Knock (2011 Jan-Jun)[18] Rank Airport Airline Passengers % Change
2010 / 111 London Stansted Ryanair49,973 
132 London Luton Ryanair39,971 123 Liverpool Ryanair32,507 164 London Gatwick Aer Lingus30,420 
25 Manchester bmibaby20,073 46 Birmingham bmibaby19,524 157 East Midlands Ryanair19,514 28 Faro Ryanair / Charter14,943 339 Bristol Ryanair13,731 110 Leeds-Bradford Ryanair11,503 9211 Alicante Ryanair10,204 2312 Barcelona-Reus Ryanair9,030 6313 Tenerife Ryanair5,259 N/A14 Lanzarote Ryanair / Charter4,880 59315 Gran Canaria Ryanair4,239 N/A16 Edinburgh flybe2,604 N/AIncidents and accidents
- On 23 March 2006, a Ryanair Boeing 737-800 "only marginally avoided controlled flight into terrain", during an approach to the airport following a flight from London Gatwick, according to the Irish Air Accident Investigation Unit. An unbriefed descent, while the flight crew concentrated on reprogramming for a new approach, meant they arrived over the airport at 410 ft with landing gear and flaps up. The aircraft landed successfully following a second approach attempt.[19]
Music
The construction of Knock Airport is the subject of "Knock Song" by Irish folk singer-songwriter Christy Moore. The musical "On a Wing and a Prayer" deals with the life and times of Monsignor James Horan, focusing on his long and arduous struggle to get the airport built. It premièred in the Royal Theatre, Castlebar, on the 25 November 2010.
References
- ^ a b c EIKN – IRELAND WEST (PDF). AIP and charts from the Irish Aviation Authority.
- ^ Knock Airport reports record passenger numbers
- ^ Connaught Aero Club
- ^ a b c d e f "History of Ireland West Airport Knock". Ireland West Airport Knock. http://www.irelandwestairport.com/utility/history.aspx. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
- ^ New scheduled flights to New York & Boston commence!
- ^ http://www.irelandwestairport.com/utility/news_details.aspx?id=176
- ^ http://www.irishnews.com/break.asp?tbrk=brk&par=brk&catid=5834&subcatid=642&storyid=394440
- ^ http://www.irelandwestairport.com/utility/news_details.aspx?id=221
- ^ http://www.irelandwestairport.com/utility/news_details.aspx?id=177
- ^ http://mayotoday.ie/index.php/browse-mayo-news-by-category/life-a-style/item/3518-ryanair-celebrates-4-million-passengers-on-knock-flights.html
- ^ http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0914/knock-business.html
- ^ [1]
- ^ http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0914/knock-business.html
- ^ Bus eireann commences new daily bus services to Ireland West Airport Knock serving towns on the Derry-Sligo-Galway Route 64
- ^ http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1270137753-440.pdf
- ^ http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1276875417-21.pdf
- ^ http://www.buseireann.ie/pdf/1233309217-22.pdf
- ^ a b http://www.cso.ie/px/pxeirestat/Dialog/varval.asp?ma=ctm01&ti=Air+Passenger+Movement+(Number)+by+Irish+Airport,+Foreign+Airport,+Month+and+Direction&path=../Database/Eirestat/Airport%20Pairings/&lang=1
- ^ "Serious Incident: Boeing B737-800, EI-DHX, Ireland West Airport, Knock, 23 Mar 2006". AAIU. http://www.aaiu.ie/AAIUviewitem.asp?id=8545&lang=ENG&loc=1280. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
External links
Airports in Ireland Northern Ireland 
Republic of Ireland Smaller font-size indicates airports handling domestic, charter or private services only.Categories:- Airports in the Republic of Ireland
- 1986 establishments in Ireland
- Transport in County Mayo
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
