Ireland West Airport sees busiest month in its history

Ireland West Airport in Knock recorded its busiest month in its history in April, with as many as 77,000 passengers moving through the hub while US president Joe Biden touched down as part of his tour of the country.

Passenger numbers increased 10 per cent compared to a year ago, the company behind the airport said in a statement. The firm now expects total passenger numbers for the year to top 850,000 this year, surpassing the record set in 2019.

The increase was driven in part by the start of a direct service to London Heathrow. That route “performed strongly,” the airport said, with “strong volumes of passengers travelling onward via Heathrow to destinations such as New York, Boston and a host of other destinations across Europe, Africa and Australia”.

”The importance of this new connection is significant as it’s the first time Ireland West Airport is now connected to one of Europe’s major international airport hubs,” it said. “The hub status of Heathrow for business and leisure passengers to connect with the global marketplace is a major boost for the airport as this service opens up key onward connectivity, through one of Europe’s biggest hubs, to and from over 80 markets worldwide.”

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Passenger numbers were also boosted by Ryanair flights to sun destinations including Lanzarote and Alicante among other destinations.

“We were delighted to see such strong volumes using the airport last month,” airport managing director Joe Gilmore said “The increasing choice of destinations on offer for customers in the west, northwest and midlands regions this summer has never been stronger.”