Ireland West Airport ( ga, Aerfort Iarthar Éireann Mhuire), officially known as Ireland West Airport Knock ( ga, Aerfort Iarthar Éireann Chnoc Mhuire), is an international airport south-west of Charlestown, County Mayo,

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. The village of Knock is away. 750,000 passengers used the airport in 2017, making it the fourth-busiest in

(after

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

and Shannon).

History

The airport opened on 25 October 1985 with three

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

charter flights to Rome: the official opening was on 30 May 1986. The site, on a hill in boggy terrain, was thought by many to be unrealistic, but the airport was built following a long and controversial campaign by Monsignor James Horan, the story of which has even inspired a musical. The primary motivation was for building it was to attract pilgrims to

Knock Shrine The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock, commonly referred to as Knock Shrine, is a Roman Catholic pilgrimage site and national shrine in the village of Knock, County Mayo, Ireland, where locals claimed to have seen an apparition in 1879 of the Ble ...

. Despite criticisms that the site was too boggy and too foggy, Horan delivered an airport within five years, primarily financed by a Government grant of £9.8 million. He died shortly after the opening of the airport, and his funeral was held at the then-named Horan International Airport. In recent times, Horan has been celebrated with a bronze statue erected at the airport. By 1988, over 100,000 passengers had passed through. Aer Lingus commenced flights from the airport to

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

in 1995.

Recent years

Since 2003, flag-carrier, low-cost and regional airlines including

, MyTravelLite,

Bmibaby Bmibaby Limited (styled as bmibaby.com) was a British low-cost airline that flew to destinations in the United Kingdom and Europe from its bases at Birmingham and East Midlands airports. It was a subsidiary of British Midland International, i ...

, Ryanair,

Aer Arann Stobart Air, legally incorporated as ''Stobart Air Unlimited Company'', was an Irish regional airline headquartered in Dublin. It operated scheduled services under the brands Aer Lingus Regional, BA CityFlyer and KLM Cityhopper on behalf of t ...

flybe Flybe (pronounced ), styled as flybe, is a British airline based at Birmingham Airport, England. History The airline traces its history back to Jersey European Airways, which was set up in 1979 following the merger of Intra Airways and Expre ...

, Lufthansa and

EasyJet EasyJet plc (styled as easyJet) is a British multinational low-cost airline group headquartered at London Luton Airport. It operates domestic and international scheduled services on 927 routes in more than 34 countries via its affiliate airli ...

have added routes to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

and

mainland Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...

. Not all have proven successful, but by 2005 the airport was handling 500,000 passengers per annum. It was voted

's best regional airport in 2006 and 2009 by the

Chambers of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

of Ireland. 2007 was a notable year, with scheduled

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

services to New York and

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

commencing in May, operated by the now-defunct

Flyglobespan Flyglobespan was a low-cost airline based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It operated scheduled services from five airports across Scotland, England and Ireland to destinations in Europe, North America, North Africa and South Africa. Its main bases we ...

. A record 629,000 passengers used the airport in 2008, a 13% rise compared to the previous year. The installation of the Category II Instrument Landing System in April 2009 has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of flight diversions to other airports due to poor visibility – the airport is 200 metres above sea level. August 2009 was the busiest month for three years, with 81,000 passengers: 28 August was the busiest day in the airport's history, with over 4,500 passengers. In 2011, the month of August was the busiest in the airport's history with 84,052 passengers. 2011 was the most successful year to date with 654,553 passengers. The year saw the commencement of routes to Lanzarote,

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

and

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

operated by Ryanair and to

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

operated by flybe. During September 2011 Ryanair celebrated its four-millionth passenger through the airport, while Lufthansa announced it would be commencing weekly flights to Düsseldorf in May 2012. In November 2011, Ryanair announced flights to Beauvais- Tillé, Frankfurt-Hahn, Bergamo- Orio al Serio and

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capital ...

- Costa Brava from March 2012. In January 2012 the 20th scheduled route was announced—flybe to

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, its third from the airport, from March 2012. Budget carrier BmiBaby announced in May 2012 that it was to axe its only route to Birmingham from 10 June, owing to the airline's takeover by IAG. Flights to Beauvais-Tillé and Frankfurt-Hahn have since ended. In 2013, Ryanair launched a weekly summer route to Málaga on Thursdays. Aer Lingus Regional, which took over the Birmingham route operating a daily service using ATR 72s ended service on 26 October. Flybe began four-times-weekly flights on the route on 27 October. On 31 October 2013, in response to the scrapping of the Irish travel tax, Ryanair unveiled three new routes from Knock to Glasgow-Prestwick, Kaunas and Eindhoven. However, these routes had all been withdrawn by the fourth quarter of 2014. On 16 August 2015, Aer Lingus operated its first transatlantic flight into the airport when carrying members of the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

, alongside Timothy Cardinal Dolan,

Archbishop of New York The Archbishop of New York is the head of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, who is responsible for looking after its spiritual and administrative needs. As the archdiocese is the metropolitan see of the ecclesiastical province encompass ...

. Cardinal Dolan subsequently opened the National Novena the following week after a tour around the entire island (all thirty-two counties). The aircraft used for the flight was a Boeing 757-200. It was announced in November 2017 that €15 million would be invested in improving and upgrading the airport in 2018 and 2019, to coincide with strong passenger growth. These plans include upgrading of car parks, passenger facilities, the terminal and resurfacing of the runway. On Thursday 20 February 2020, the first

Airbus A380 The Airbus A380 is a large wide-body airliner that was developed and produced by Airbus. It is the world's largest passenger airliner and only full-length double-deck jet airliner. Airbus studies started in 1988, and the project was annou ...

(F-HPJB) to be retired by Air France arrived from

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, for scrapping. The A380 was only ten years old.

Government assistance

The building of the airport was primarily financed by Government grants totaling £9.858 million. The completion of the airport was funded by a £1.3 million grant from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, payable on condition that the airport developers provided an equal sum from their own resources. On 21 February 2007, the

Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland. The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The gover ...

announced that it was making a €27 million capital grant. The airport stated that it would continue the implementation of its €46 million infrastructural investment programme with over €20 million of spend anticipated for 2008. Work commenced on a number of significant civil and building projects in this year. A€5.5 million extension to the

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together * Terminal (telecommunication), a device communicating over a line * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output dev ...

building was completed in April 2009. The implementation of Category II Instrument Landing System (CAT II ILS) on runway 27, to enhance reliability in low visibility, has been completed and approved. An extension to the Runway End Safety Areas (RESAs) and runway turnpad was completed in March 2009. Departing passengers aged 12 years and over pay a "Development Fee" of €10. The fee is a critical contributor to the ongoing sustainability of the airport and provides a vital funding source to support the ongoing development works of the airport. In 2005, the airport changed its name to Ireland West Airport Knock. As of August 2009, the Aeronautical Information Publication, including the

aeronautical chart An aeronautical chart is a map designed to assist in the navigation of aircraft, much as nautical charts do for watercraft, or a roadmap does for drivers. Using these charts and other tools, pilots are able to determine their position, safe alt ...

s available at

European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol (stylised ''EUROCONTROL''), is an international organisation working to achieve safe and seamless air traffic management across Europe. Founded in 1960, Eu ...

, showed it as Ireland West.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate scheduled and charter flights to and from Ireland West Airport:

Passenger statistics

Passenger numbers

Busiest routes

Ground transport

Road

The airport is near the N17 road, about halfway between

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city on ...

and Sligo. It is also close to the N5 Westport to Longford road. Over 1,500 short-term and long-term parking spaces are available at the airport. The nearest large towns,

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. W ...

and Ballina, are both distant, while Sligo is from the airport.

is away and

is from the airport.

Bus

Bus Éireann airport services: * Route 64:

– Derry * Route 440: Athlone – Westport

Train

The nearest railway stations, accessible by taxi and bus are: *

Ballyhaunis Ballyhaunis () is a town in County Mayo, Ireland. It is at the crossroads of the N60 and N83 National secondary roads and on the railway line linking Dublin to Westport and Ballina. It is thought that the town grew up around St Mary's Augu ...

- *

Foxford Foxford () is a village 16 km south of Ballina in County Mayo, Ireland. It stands on the N26 national primary route from Swinford to Ballina and has a railway station served by trains between Manulla Junction and Ballina. Foxford lie ...

- *

Claremorris Claremorris (; ) is a town in County Mayo in the west of Ireland, at the junction of the N17 and the N60 national routes. It is the fastest growing town in the county. There was a 31% increase in the town's population between 2006 and 2011 an ...

- *

Ballymote Ballymote () is a market town in southern County Sligo, approx. 24 km south east of Sligo town in the province of Connacht, which is located in the north-west of Ireland. Ballymote lies in the barony of Corran. A commuter town with a st ...

- The proposed reopening of the

Western Rail Corridor The Western Railway Corridor is a term, used since , for a partly disused railway line running through the west of Ireland. Currently two sections of the line, from Limerick via Ennis to Athenry and from Collooney to Sligo, see regular servic ...

from

onto Sligo would ultimately have closer railway access to the airport.

Taxi

Ireland West Airport is serviced by specially licensed Hackneys and must be pre booked by the laws set down by the National Transport Authority in Ireland.

Car hire

A number of international car rental companies offer rental facilities at Ireland West Airport including Budget, Avis, Europcar and Hertz.

Incidents and accidents

* Incident: Beech Queen-Air 70, N70AA, Sligo Airport, 20 Dec 2005. * Serious Incident: Boeing B737, EI-DHX, Ireland West Airport, Knock, 23 Mar 2006. * Accident: Beech 65-A90 King Air, N712DB, Ireland West Airport Knock, 22 August 2006. * Accident: Beechcraft 77 Skipper, EI-BHT, Kilmovee Co. Mayo, Ireland, 11 May 2008. * Incident: Cessna 172S, EI-NFW, Ireland West Airport, Knock, Co. Mayo, 28 May 2009. * Serious Incident: Diamond Twin Star DA42 MNG, G-COBS & Piper PA31-350, G-FCSL 5NM east of Ireland West Airport Knock, Co. Mayo 22 April 2013.

In popular culture

* The construction of the airport is the subject of "Knock Song" by Irish folk singer-songwriter

Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...

. * The musical "On a Wing and a Prayer" deals with the life and times of

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

Horan, focusing on his struggle to get the airport built. It premièred in The Royal Theatre,

, on 25 November 2010. * The airport was used in the film ''

Wild Mountain Thyme "Wild Mountain Thyme" (also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will Ye Go, Lassie, Go?") is a Scottish/Irish folk song. The lyrics and melody are a variant of the song "The Braes of Balquhither" by Scottish poet Robert Tannahill (1774–1810) and S ...

'' in October 2019.

References

External links

Official website
* * {{authority control 1986 establishments in Ireland Airports in the Republic of Ireland

Airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...

Transport in County Mayo