The clever marketing team at Ireland West Airport have always made a virtue of their uniqueness. The ten minutes it takes to get from your from car to departures makes it a welcome facility in an age when getting through an airport can be laborious.
Such is not the case at Ireland West Airport - with available and close parking, smooth processes and in an instant, you are through. An ease which is not lost on the 834,000 who used the airport last year.
In the region of 80,000 outbound passengers from Galway used the airport in 2024 which is up about five per cent compared to 2023. In return, 75,000+ visitors from overseas visited Galway using the airport as a gateway. RedC research showed that visitors to Galway spend an average of five nights in Galway when they visit the West of Ireland. All of which is welcomed by airport management.
"People just like using the airport," said managing director Joe Gilmore when I spoke to him this week. "I put it down to the fact that demand for travel remains very strong. You know, coming into last year we were cautious, because we had actually less capacity on certain routes, but the load factors on all the routes across the network increased by up to 10 per cent.
"So demand for travel remains healthy. The economy still remains pretty strong, and people like using the airport. We just want to acknowledge all the support we get from that point of view. So the convenience aspect is important, especially when I think of larger congested airports and all the hassle that people have," he said.
"2024 has proven to be the busiest year on record at Ireland West Airport. For the first time in the airport’s history, passenger numbers increased to 834,000, surpassing the previous record of 817,000 passengers achieved in 2023.
"The airport now serves 22 international destinations and is served by three of Europe’s major international airlines: Aer Lingus, Lauda Europe, and Ryanair," he added.
In 2024, the number of passengers travelling on services to and from the UK totalled 667,732, an increase of 1% compared to 2023. The number of passengers travelling on services to Mainland and Continental Europe hit a new high for the airport, with 165,500 passengers travelling to and from Alicante, Barcelona, Faro, Majorca, Malaga, Milan, Cologne, Lanzarote, and Tenerife, representing a 9% increase on 2023 figures.
The passenger growth forecast for 2025 looks positive following the announcement of a new inbound tourism service from Groningen, Netherlands, which commences in June with leading Dutch Tour Operator BBI Travel.
"The Groningen inward flights will be bringing a couple of thousand Dutch visitors into the West," said Mr Gilmore.
"And it's a new endeavour. So that's selling well from the Dutch side, and it is a weekly charter on Saturday, so that could increase, as it goes forward, and larger aircraft are allocated to it."
It is endeavours like that which have strengthened the partnership between themselves and the local authorities in the west who will benefit from the increased tourism the airport facilitates.
Mr Gilmore is optimistic about the future of the airport and outlined the improvements planned for the next three years which are set to enhance the facility's safety, security and convenience.
Major projects
"During the period 2025-2028, and subject to Government funding support, we are looking to commence a number of major safety and security related projects which will cost in the region of €38m plus.
"The Airport Development Fee will provide a critical funding support to facilitate the completion of these projects. Whilst major safety and security-related infrastructural projects are part supported by Government funding, 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.
These key projects include:
— Apron Safety Extension
— Construction of new Fire Training Centre at the airport
— Completion of the Sheltered Passenger Walkway
— Continuation of upgrading airport vehicles to Electric vehicles including the purchase of a new Electric Fuel Bowser, Electrical Ambilift and Electrical Ground Power Unit
— Progressing of the airport's sustainability and environmental strategy to achieve ‘net zero’ for its carbon emissions by 2050
— Construction of a new PV Solar Farm
"The completion of the above projects will ensure the airport continues to comply with international safety and security regulations and see the airport continues to enhance its facilities and customer experience for our passengers," he said.
Mr Gilmore also spoke about the potential that exists from the proposed development of the Strategic Development Zone and that he is hopeful that the Government will look favourably at its potential to grow a new business and enterprise hub with the airport at its centre.
He welcomed the Government decision to allocate funds to Mayo County Council to employ a dedicated Project Manager to accelerate the development of the SDZ at IWA as a key economic driver for the western Region.
"The appointment of Dominick Healy is to be welcomed. He took up the role in August and joins Mayo County Council with extensive experience as a Civil Engineer in the construction industry having worked for more than fifteen years in both the private and public sectors," he said.
Mr Healy's first priority will be to prepare a roadmap and programme for the development of the SDZ working with the multi-agency Steering Committee established by Government.
This SDZ will be in the form of a campus aiming to cultivate and establish new business and innovative industries that harnesses the benefits of living and doing business in the West of Ireland. There will be an emphasis on those requiring a link to the airport. It will facilitate hotel and conference facilities that complement the business climate of the airport location.
The SDZ Scheme, if built out to full capacity, could deliver 95,025sq.m of Commercial, Business & Enterprise space, 44,000sq.m of Aviation Economic Development & Services, and 11,000sq.m of Hotel Accommodation & Conference floorspace. It will have the potential to deliver future employment capacity of almost 4,200 persons.
Public transport
"The current Regional Airports Programme finishes this year so we are looking forward to meeting with Government and seeing how they propose finding regional airports as they draft and review the national aviation policy," said Mr Gilmore .
He added that the airport is a strong advocate for sustainability and with that in mind, would like to address the low supply of public transport to the airport and see an electric bus run to and from Charlestown to interact with the bus services; and also to see the reopening of the rail service to Sligo.
He also called for the road from Tuam to Sligo to be made a motorway, to make it safer.
"We just want to make it easier for passengers to use the airport above and beyond what we are already doing," he said.
In 2024 the airport teamed up with Tourism Ireland, the seven local authority partners and trade representatives from the West and North West of Ireland to partake in overseas workshops and networking events in Cologne, Germany and Milan in Italy to promote the Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands and direct flights from Cologne and Milan to Ireland West Airport with Ryanair.
At the events, over 40 West and North West of Ireland Trade – 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. Guests enjoyed the best of Irish food, prepared by Good Food Ireland.
The aim is to inspire potential holidaymakers to choose the West and North West of Ireland and to sustainably support local economies and communities by driving bookings on flights to regional airports like Ireland West Airport Knock through the key gateways of Milan and Cologne.
Ireland West Airport is flying — with the convenience, the access, the creativity and the routes, it is looking forward to setting new records in 2025.
