Close to 40,000 Roscommon passengers used Ireland West Airport in 2024

Close to 40,000 outbound passengers from County Roscommon used Ireland West Airport in 2024, according to its managing director.

Joe Gilmore said it was great to see such high numbers of people from Roscommon using the facility.

“I suppose what put this airport here was the desire and passion of local West of Ireland people for an airport and from our point of view, we're endlessly thankful for the people of the West that continue to support us and use it,” he said.

The Ireland West Airport MD also pointed out that 23,000 overseas visitors who came through the airport last year spent time in County Roscommon. “They're spending an average of four nights in Roscommon when they come, so that’s about 100,000 bed nights. There are certainly millions being spent in Roscommon because of the airport.” Figures show that 44% of those visitors to the county came for holiday purposes and Lough Key Forest Park proved to be most popular attraction.

When the Roscommon Herald spoke to Mr Gilmore, he and his staff were busy dealing with the fall-out from Storm Eowyn. Despite being forced to use generators to address power outages, the airport was fully functioning again following a half-day closure during the status red storm warning.

Not surprisingly, he spoke about unknown future challenges always lurking for the airline industry. However, off the back of a very strong 2024 for the airport, he expected further growth again this year.

Last year was the busiest on record at Ireland West Airport. For the first time in its history, passenger numbers increased by 2% to 834,000, surpassing the previous record of 817,000 in 2023.

Ryanair also recorded its busiest ever year for passenger traffic, with record numbers using its services to places like Liverpool and London Luton. In 2024, the number of passengers travelling on services to and from the UK totalled almost 668,00, an increase of 1% compared to the previous year. The airline is also set to increase capacity at the airport by about 15% in 2025, including on the very popular sun holiday routes.

“We're finding that the demand, particularly on outbound leisure is very strong. We have what we call the old reliables like Alicante, Malaga and Faro, and Ryanair is adding more frequencies on those. So extra rotations have been added each week and likewise on some of the UK routes.

“While we're not adding new destinations, we're adding more capacity. It's serving our end in terms of passenger growth and for passengers - hopefully they will have more flexibility and more options for shorter breaks “The strong leisure market demand looks like it's carrying on into this year. Again, it's very early but it's looking like being a very good year and hopefully we'll exceed the 2024 numbers and continue to grow by a few percent.” 

Aer Lingus also marked its busiest ever year for passenger traffic, with its London-Heathrow service, launched in 2023, going from strength to strength.

“What was important to see was that routes like the Heathrow one with Aer Lingus showed a good nine or 10% uplift on the previous six months. So, it is bedding in well.” Ireland West Airport now serves 22 international destinations and is served by three of Europe’s major international airlines, Aer Lingus, Ryanair and Lauda Europe.

Despite all this success, the importance of ongoing promotion of the airports and the region’s offerings continues. Last year, the airport teamed up with Tourism Ireland, its seven local authority partners and trade representatives from the region to promote the Wild Atlantic Way and Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands at major networking events in Cologne and Milan. Both cities have regular flights to Knock.

At the events, more than 40 West and Northwest of Ireland businesses – from premium hotels and whiskey distilleries to outdoor activities and hidden gems of heritage – connected with 50 leading German and Italian tour operators, travel agents and media.

The aim is to inspire potential holidaymakers to choose the West and North West of Ireland and to sustainably support local economies and communities. This will be achieved by driving bookings on flights to regional airports like Ireland West Airport through the key gateways of Milan and Cologne.

The airport has also announced a new inbound tourism service from Groningen, Netherlands, which commences this June with leading Dutch tour operator BBI Travel.

“BBI Travel has started a three-month charter series from Groening in the North of Holland and that’s selling very well. So, we're hoping that we will have more capacity on that, if not this summer, next summer and put on a larger aircraft.

“The company has been sending visitors to Ireland for the last 20 years but from Dublin. The company puts and emphasis on outdoor lifestyle focused tours. There will initially be about a 1,000 or 1,500 Dutch people this year and they love the ruggedness of the West of Ireland and its landscape,” he said.

As the demand for the airport’s services grows, so does the need to enhance its infrastructure and facilities. Close to €7m was spent last year on safety, security and infrastructural upgrades.

This investment includes a root and branch electrical upgrade, including a rewiring of the air traffic control tower and runway lighting. Other capital investment last year included the purchase of two new fire tender vehicles and an electrical security patrol vehicle.

All of this is part of a comprehensive airport transformation programme which Mr Gilmore said that people didn’t always notice but involved considerable capital outlay.

At the heart of the airport’s sustainability and environmental strategy is a desire to become the country’s first airport to reach zero carbon by 2030.

Mr Gilmore highlighted the need for the airport to move to more sustainable operations and one big project in this regard is the development of a multi-million-euro solar farm at the airport.

“We submitted the planning application before Christmas, so subject to funding we’d hope to be kicking that off later this year. This is a big development here, which will provide up to 50% of the power required for the airport,” he outlined.

Over the next four years, several major safety and security related projects are planned to commence, costing in the region of €38m.

While major safety and security-related infrastructural projects are part supported by Government funding, this grant aid provided for capital expenditure projects is required to be matched by the airport from its own resources and the development fee is critical to bridging this gap.

Mr Gilmore outlined that the airport’s current funding programme is up for review later this year.

“One of my first tests in the next few weeks is sitting down with the new Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien and his colleague, Minister Sean Canney to put our case for the continuation of further funding to continue the development of the airport.” One major selling point for the airport continues to be the hassle-free experience for passengers compared to the larger airports. This convenience combined with customer service, car-parking beside the terminal and value for money is also proving an attraction for people beyond the traditional catchment area.

“I think since Covid that it’s growing, and more people are seeing the benefits. We're seeing more and more custom from the east of the country.” Major celebrations are planned next year to mark 40 years since its official opening. It now employs approximately 180 staff along with an additional 70 others on-site from other companies.

From small beginnings four decades ago, the airport has become one of the West of Ireland’s enduring success stories.