Ireland West Airport are celebrating after it was announced 2016 has proven to be a record breaking year at Ireland West Airport with passenger numbers exceeding 730,000 for the first time in the airports 31 year history.
In 2016, the annual number of passengers using the airport increased by 7% to 734,031, an increase of 48,563 passengers compared to 2015. The Airport now serves 23 International destinations and is served by three of Europes major International airlines, Aer Lingus, Flybe and Ryanair.
The growth in passenger numbers in 2016 was fuelled by the commencement of four new services to Birmingham and Edinburgh with Flybe, Costa Dorada with Falcon & Thomson Holidays and the arrival of the first ever charter service from Boston with Aer Lingus. Extra capacity on existing services from Barcelona, Bristol, Faro and Manchester also helped drive passenger numbers to record levels in 2016.
The UK Market saw the biggest increase in 2016 with an extra 55,000 passengers using UK services to and from the airport which represented a 10% increase on 2015 numbers. The Airport now serves 9 different airports across the UK which represents the biggest selection of UK services to and from the West and North West of Ireland.
Commenting on the 2016 performance, Managing Director at Ireland West Airport, Joe Gilmore said, "We are delighted to have had a record year in 2016 with passenger numbers exceeding 730,000 for the first time in the airports history which is good news for the regional economy, for tourism, and for job creation, both at the airport and in the wider economy."
Source: www.businessworld.ie
