Waterford Airport

The airport's development was initiated by Waterford Corporation, with support from the Government of Ireland and the private sector, in 1979–1980. The investment was £1.76 million.

Waterford Airport opened in 1981, with a 1,200 by 29 m (3,937 by 95 ft) runway for single and twin-engine light aircraft and a portable cabin as the terminal building. The current terminal building was opened in 1992, and the runway was lengthened to 1,433 by 30 m (4,701 by 98 ft). Avair provided the first domestic passenger service in 1982, as a stop between Cork and Dublin Airport. In 1985, Ryanair launched the company's first international scheduled service from Waterford to London Gatwick.

Waterford Airport celebrated 21 years of scheduled operations in 2006. On 13 March 2007, a €27.5 million upgrade of the airport was announced. Over the next two years the money would be spent on extending the runway to 7,300 feet (2,200 m) in length, building a new passenger terminal capable of handling one million passengers a year, and introducing scheduled flights to European cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Prague and Rome. There was also an expectation of charter flights to Mediterranean holiday resorts. The expansion would mean that air travellers in the southeast of Ireland would have a "credible alternative" to Dublin and Cork airports, according to officials at Waterford Airport. According to the chief executive of Waterford Airport, Graham Doyle, the extended runway was to be in place by summer 2009 and capable of handling large jet aircraft, including the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737.[7]

The fully upgraded and remodelled connecting regional road, R708, from Waterford city to the airport was completed in early July 2008, reducing the journey time from Waterford city centre to the airport to 10 minutes at off-peak times, and from the outer ring road, R470, to the airport to 5 minutes.

Passenger numbers through Waterford Airport slumped in 2009, owing to the suspension of routes to Bordeaux, Faro, Málaga and Amsterdam, and to service reductions on routes to Birmingham, London Luton and Manchester. Overall passenger numbers from the UK fell by 9%.[8]

In February 2010, an Economic Impact Assessment of Waterford Airport was published, which highlighted the importance of the airport to the South East Region.[9] Noel Dempsey, the Transport Minister, announced on 9 March 2010 that owing to difficulties with public finances there would be no funding for the runway extension at the airport, and that security and safety were priorities "in the current financial climate".[10]

In November 2012, Aer Arann announced it would terminate all its routes from Waterford. The airline operating under Aer Lingus Regional suspended its service to London Southend, London Luton and Manchester on the 6th of January.[11]

Aer Arann ATR 72 at Waterford

On 12 August 2013, it was reported that a 150m extension of the runway would be funded by the Department of Transport up to a limit of €400,000. The airport itself would have to raise the remaining €850,000 for it to take place.

VLM Airlines announced it would terminate its flights to London Luton at short notice by 13 June 2016, leaving Waterford Airport without any scheduled traffic.[5]

In June 2017, after a year without commercial flights a new airline Aer Southeast announced three new year round services to London Luton and Manchester and Birmingham.[12] Although 18 months after the announcement the airline shut down due to a licensing issue.[13]

A €12 million plan was announced in June 2019 to extend the airports runway by 850 meters and revamp the airport. Minister for Transport Shane Ross would give the airport €5 million only to be given once the extended runway is confirmed and ready for service. Local corporations such as Glanbia, Coolmore Stud and Dawn Meats pledged a total of €5 million with €2 million from local authorities. The extended runway would allow medium-sized commercial passenger jet aircraft such as Boeing 737s and Airbus 320s to use the airport allowing for commercial use. The airport hopes to attract Ryanair back but for now the company has said it's “no plans for the near future” regarding Waterford.[14][15] Spring 2021 is set for the commencement of commercial flight.

The airport is on the R708 road, which can be accessed from the R710 outer ring road in Waterford. Waterford has a by-pass, and thus the airport can be very easily reached from Dungarvan, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford. After reaching the outer ring road, four major primary routes can be accessed from Waterford: towards New Ross, Dublin, Limerick and Cork.

The nearest bus and coach station is 10 km away in Waterford, from where Bus Éireann provides services to Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Rosslare Europort, Wexford, Clonmel and Tramore. JJ Kavanagh and Sons offers connections to Dublin Airport, Carlow and Tramore as well. Dublin Coach provides a direct service to Dublin via Kilkenny, and to Cork via Dungarvan. There is also a railway station in Waterford; this offers services to Limerick via Clonmel and Tipperary, and to Dublin Heuston via Kilkenny and Carlow.