Ireland West Airport Knock hopes to create 2,000 jobs over the next 10 years by establishing an industrial park on about 100 acres of land at the Co Mayo airport.

Liam Scollan, newly-appointed group managing director of Knock, said the move was designed to create a long-term alternative revenue stream for the airport that it could use to fund the upgrade and expansion of its infrastructure.

The airport has formed a think tank to identify suitable industries in what Mr Scollan expects will be a development costing "several hundred million euro".

"The potential is there to attract industry around the site," Mr Scollan said. "We need to build a second leg to the business to help our investment in infrastructure here."

Knock is planning to invest €45 million in airport facilities over the next 10 years, with the Government funding €27 million of that sum.

"That places enormous capital strains on the business and we have to look well ahead as to how we generate capital in the future," he said.

Knock airport is owned by the Horan International Airport Trust and sits on 600 acres.

Mayo County Council recently began preparing the ground for development at Knock by initiating a process to create a strategic development zone around the airport. Mr Scollan said Knock was in detailed discussions with airline Flyglobespan to operate a year-round direct transatlantic service to New York and Boston. "There's a five-year deal on the table and we're at advanced stages in talks," he said.

In May, Flyglobespan began using Knock as a stopover for flights operating between the UK and Boston and New York. To date, about 17,500 people have travelled between Knock and the United States.

The flights are due to cease in October and Mr Scollan is hoping a deal on direct services can be signed as part of the Open Skies deal agreed between the United States and the European Union.

"We're very hopeful that a deal can be done," he said.