Cork Airport

About Cork Airport

Aer Rianta - Cork International Airport

Cork International Airport continues to be one of the fastest growing regional airports in Europe. Dating back to 1961, when the first plane landed, Cork Airport has an interesting history. Today it has facilities for passengers that are equal to or better than most airports of comparable size in the world. Situated in the beautiful South of Ireland, just five miles from Cork city centre, and with excellent communication links, it is indeed the airport of the future. The airport now handles over 1.7 million passengers annually.

Location
Cork International Airport, the gateway to the South of Ireland is easily accessible by air from Europe, the United States and Great Britain.

Waterford, Tipperary and Kilkenny are within easy reach via the new Lee Tunnel. A frequent bus service operates from the airport to Cork city centre. Train services operate downtown from Kent station serving all of Ireland.

Cork Airport is the gateway to Ireland's finest scenery of West Cork and Killarney, Co. Kerry. There are over 100 golf courses within easy reach, including the world-renowned Old Head of Kinsale, Fota, Mount Juliet, Waterville and Ballybunion. Other leisure pursuits in Cork, Kerry and Waterford, include deep-sea angling, sailing and equestrian sports. The gourmet capital of Ireland, Kinsale will always provide an unforgettable dining experience.

The University city of Cork offers unique heritage centres such as Blarney Castle and the City Gaol. Only an hour's journey takes you to the historic Rock of Cashel in Tipperary, the world famous Waterford Crystal factory and the wonderful Lismore Castle estate.

Cities
Amsterdam, Birmingham, Bristol, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Liverpool, London (Gatwick, Heathrow, Stansted), Manchester, Paris, Plymouth, Rennes. Over 40 airlines provide regular scheduled and charter services in and out of Cork Airport.

Passenger Growth Over The Years
Passenger numbers at Cork Airport have almost doubled in the last five years. In 1999, the airport passed the 1.5 million mark for the first time with an increase of 14%, an additional 186,750 passengers.

Passenger numbers across all UK routes increased by 89,521, a trend which is continuing into 2000. New routes introduced in 1999 included British European's Birmingham service.

On the European scheduled and charter sectors, Cork Airport's business grew by 24% in 1999. New Paris and Amsterdam scheduled flights by Aer Lingus were the chief engines of growth. Charter business was buoyant, with 100,000 summer and winter holiday makers departing from the south. Domestic traffic was also up by 12% to over 260,000.

Cork Airport moved to 24-hour opening in August 1999 in response to market demand.

Cork Airport's overall concern is to ensure that their customers feel relaxed and welcome at the airport. Cork Airport feel that they have achieved this by ensuring that the building is bright and airy with many unique aspects including a warm welcoming fire in our Arrivals Hall, water features, aquaria and some beautiful pieces of sculpture.

Aer Rianta has adopted the new "Travel Value" brand to market airport retailing to passengers. This brand is being introduced by airport retail operators across the EU and involves offering top quality brands at special value to passengers. At Cork Airport, the airside shopping area is being redeveloped with the focus on the Travel Value offer.

The Future Cork Airport Development Plan
In September 1999, Cork Airport unveiled a IR£60 million blueprint for the future. The terminal building will be expanded to eventually accommodate 3.5 million passengers. Construction of a new pier will include new airbridges. The investment will also include apron and terminal expansion, taxiways, new cargo facilites and multi-story carparking.

The principle phases are as follows:

Cargo
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 over the next 5 years serving existing and new cargo customers.

Four cargo airlines are presently based at Cork Airport serving the European markets daily. These are DHL, TNT, UPS and Channel Express.

Cork Airport Business Park
Cork Airport Business Park, in which the Aer Rianta Group is a shareholder, commenced in October 1998 and opened in September 1999. Located on 45 acres close to the airport terminal, the Business Park was built at a cost of IR£80 million and is a partnership between Aer Rianta, ICC Bank and the developer Omnistone Ltd.

The 480,000ft facility has attracted many of the leading new technology companies, as well as bio-technology, shipping and academic interests.The Park consists of 29 buildings of varying sizes to suit the customers needs and when completed in 2001 the park will employ 2,500 people.

Great Southern Hotel
The new Cork Airport Hotel will complete the Great Southern Hotel's presence at each of the Irish airports, and will open in spring 2001. The 81 ensuite bedroom hotel will be an important contributor to the Cork Airport Business Park's success.

Cork Airport - Terminal Facilities