Sod officially turned at Waterford Airport as runway extension begins
Sod officially turned at Waterford Airport as runway extension begins
Ten years after the last commercial flight touched down in Waterford Airport, the sod has now been turned on the extension of the airport’s runway in a fresh bid to court commercial airlines.
Monday, May 18, saw Waterford politicians and stakeholders meet at the airport for one of the businesses’ brighter days, following years of dark clouds hanging over its future.
Fraught, lengthy negotiations with the government over a hybrid investment model that ultimately failed to materialise left a gap for US oil billionaire Kelcy Warren to fill.
In September 2025, Mr Warren committed to investing €30 million in the airport, ushering in works that will see the runway double in length and width. The airport’s current length (1,200m) and width (29m) mean the airport in its current state cannot accommodate modern aviation jets.
The challenge now hinges on the airport’s ability to court industry heavyweights to the airport, with summer 2027 previously touted as a possible return for commercial flights.
William Bolster, once the largest shareholder in Waterford Regional Airport Plc and now the director of Waterford Airport Ltd, previously told the that small regional players are not an option.
The last airline that flew into Waterford was VLM Airlines, a budget Belgian operator that ceased business in 2018.
Much has been made of Waterford Airport’s shared history with Ryanair. Europe’s largest airline made its first-ever flight from Waterford to London Gatwick on July 8, 1985.
Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary once branded backers of Waterford Airport “local lunatics” but has since rolled back his disdain, saying a Waterford-London flight could “be likely”.
Asked by the how the airport was selling itself to potential airline partners, William Bolster said: “We've 680,000 people within a 50-minute drive here, and people are mad to go flying… we have it so easy, as you can see yourself, car park, your car park to flight seat would be literally 40 minutes if you want.
“What we need to do is actually have more regional connectivity, so we're not here to take anyone's business, we're here to complement it.”
As the contract stands between Mr Warren and the airport, the extension must be completed before Mr Warren can assume control of the business.
There is no contractual provision for the return of commercial flights to Waterford.
Mr Bolster told the that a failed business meeting with Government in June 2025 acted as the definitive catalyst in seeking private investment.
He said that his contact with Mr Warren had begun during Government negotiations, where a business case seeking €12 million of exchequer funding was ultimately rejected.
“You always have to have a few horses in the race,” he said.
“I was talking to the investor…that had its ups and downs as well, that we couldn't agree a deal, but I suppose what really concentrated the mind was that famous meeting at the end of June with Government.”
So what did this investor see that the Government didn’t?
“You look at any airport in any country in any part of the world, and that answers it really,” Mr Bolster said.
“There's the amount of infrastructure, employment that goes on in any airport, that's what investors see, including myself. That's why I stuck at it for so long myself. I know the potential of this place, and we're just going to prove it.”
Government representatives expressed regret at the way things played out.
Waterford Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler (Fianna Fáil) appeared to take aim at the Department of Transport’s civil servants when discussing the fallout from Government negotiations.
“We pushed really, really hard to try and get it over the line. There were always issues in relation to the type of submission, they came back for additional information," she said.
“But there was heel-dragging. I will say that from the start. I said it categorically at the time, that I felt the department, the aviation sector in the department, weren't where we wanted them to be.
“I would say the Government were there…the aviation sector, and the Department of Transport - in my opinion, I'll stand over it all day long - weren't there.”
Chiming in with similar rhetoric, Fianna Fáil Member of the European Parliament Cynthia Ní Mhurchú accused Government of being overly prudent in its decision to grant funding.
“I think in this case, due diligence, prudence was obviously rolled out, but maybe a little bit too much,” she said to the
