Digital Desk Staff
The reconstructed main runway at Cork Airport has been officially reopened and management says that not only has the work been finished on time but also within budget.
As the Irish Examiner reports, the completed work, which aviation authority chiefs say is the fastest large-scale construction project undertaken in the State in recent years, will see flights return again on Monday morning.
Over 430 people were employed in construction and supply jobs, including works on the airfield and runway, as well as in terms of lighting, drainage and ducting.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin officially opened the newly reconstructed main runway at Cork Airport at a ceremony on the runway at the airport today.
The event was also attended by Minister Hildegarde Naughton, Minister of State at the Department of Transport, and senior cabinet members, along with civic and business leaders.
Cork Airport managing director Niall MacCarthy described it as a "brave decision" to undertake the work in the first place, though it had come in for criticism from tour operators, travel agents, and others, who said business was badly affected due to the closure, which was effective from September 13th.
There were concerns it would not be completed on time and would impact on Christmas tour operator business.
However, the alternative to get the much-needed work done at the 60-year-old airport was nighttime closures over a 10-month period next year.
Part of the decision to do it this year was because passenger numbers in and out of the airport had fallen due to the pandemic.
Despite being Ireland’s fastest-growing airport in 2019, when it had 2.6m passengers, Cork Airport recorded an 80 per cent decrease in passenger numbers in the full year to December 31, 2020, with just 530,000 people using it.
Traffic declined across all destinations, with passenger numbers to and from Southern Europe being hit worst, down 87 per cent year-on-year, while Western Europe was down 80 per cent.
Passengers to and from UK Provincial cities were down by 81 per cent while traffic to and from London decreased by 76 per cent.
