Knock passenger numbers bode well for the future

Knock passenger numbers bode well for the future


ONE way to secure your future in business is to keep setting your standards very high and continue to reach those standards on a regular basis. The future of Ireland West Airport Knock has been the subject of many column inches and air time on local radio for the last 18 months but the decision makers at the airport have continued to put their shoulders to the wheel and their hard work is bearing fruit if the latest passenger figures released are anything to go by.
July 2014 saw a record breaking 91,000 passengers use the facility, breaking a record which was set back in August 2012, and projections for the whole year predict more that 700,000 people could use the airport for the first time in a calendar year.
There is no doubt that the variety of flights now available from Knock is key to the increase in passenger numbers. You can now travel to some 25 international destinations, meaning those living on the west coast have never had to so easy to book a holiday in the UK or on the continent.
But one must not forget that getting our European counterparts to fly directly into Knock and the west of Ireland is a crucial for the tourism industry and the figures released for last month are also encouraging in that respect.
The new service from Cologne-Bonn in Germany is expected to bring an increase of 20 per cent in terms of German visitors to the region and new routes from the Netherlands, Lithuania and Scotland are also expected to show increases.
Of course, routes to the UK, in particular to and from London, are of huge importance to Knock and anyone who travels regularly on services to Stansted or Luton will know there is barely ever a vacant seat on the majority of these flights. A recent report prepared by Professor Jim Deegan of the National Centre for Tourism Policy Studies for the Shannon Airport Marketing Consultative Committee suggested that all regional airports should no longer receive Government subsidies, which obviously would be to the benefit of Shannon and its future plans.
But the reality is that Joe Gilmore and his fellow directors at Knock have come up with a hugely successful commercial model that needs in the region of just eight per cent of its running costs from the Government and that will surely be forthcoming over the next few years with a General Election due in 2016.
The continued commercial success should mean that more money will be available to service the debt of €10 million which exists at the airport but should also mean that opportunity for further expansion at the airport will exist.
While Ireland West Airport Knock continues to break records, it will continue to establish itself as the most important piece of infrastructure in the west of Ireland and in turn will be here for many years to come.

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