Editorial: Leaving on a jet plane... but not from Waterford
Waterford Airport lingers in a state of limbo that has dragged on despite a very promising commitment from private investors.
As you drive along the road towards Waterford Airport, you might catch a glimpse of a small airplane in the sky - one of the privately owned aircrafts that take off from the facility. Or see the Irish Coast Guard Air and Sea Rescue helicopter heading out on one of its rescue missions.
Outside of that, the area will be relatively quiet, with more traffic destined for the adjoining business park and converted bus café.
It has been many years now since commercial planes have taken off from the regional airport, for destinations that once included London and Lorient in France during the summer season.
Indeed, Waterford Airport once successfully tapped into the European tourism market, while the quick hop over to the UK was a popular route for businesspeople across the South East.
Today, it lingers in a state of limbo, that has dragged on despite a very promising commitment to invest from a combination of the Bolster Group and the Galway-based Comer brothers, backed by a regional commitment from the local authorities of Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny.
The multimillion-euro private investment in the airport would require matching government funding, and it is on this hurdle that it is currently caught.
The long-running saga relates to an extension to the airport’s runway, which was originally mooted over a decade ago, and which was finally granted planning permission in 2022.
The longer runway would pave the way for commercial jets and re-open the possibility of a return for Ryanair, which operated its first commercial flight from the airport in 1985.
The kingmaker, in this story, is Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan of the Green Party, who showed that his cards were not so positively disposed towards the further development of Waterford Airport.
“We have so many airports in the country... Knock, Shannon, Kerry, Cork, Dublin, Belfast,” he previously told WLR FM.
Locally, pressure continues to be pushed for the development to take place, with business stakeholders vocal that it is key to the progress of Waterford and the South East region.
The latest is that a government decision is pending on the airport, with the Department of Transport having undertaken a detailed appraisal of the business case for the extension of the runway, which was put forward by Waterford Airport.
The department's assessment has been submitted for consideration to both Minister Ryan and Minister of State at the Department of Transport, James Lawless.
The Department of Transport said that the decision to give state funding to the expansion of Waterford Airport would be based on the Airport’s Board demonstrating that “sufficient demand exists for Waterford Airport to be a viable facility for regular scheduled aviation business” and that the additional capacity could not be met by existing airports in the vicinity of Waterford.
What is somewhat concerning, is that the Department statement noted that Waterford Airport is “currently in a position to operate services without any major runway extension and it operated with the existing runway for several years previously”.
“The existing runway is comparable to Donegal Airport, which successfully operates both PSO and commercial propellor plane services,” it said.
Meanwhile, Knock's Ireland West Airport has just announced that they will open yet another route - this time to Groningen in The Netherlands during summer 2025 with leading Dutch Tour Operator BBI Travel.
As Christy Moore penned:
"
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Yet here, eight years since the last commercial flight took off, our excellent airport road is more of use to hobbyists spotting tumbleweeds rather than elusive planes.
