Ryanair Group Chief Executive Michael O’Leary has said it is “likely” the airline will operate a small number of weekly services from Waterford Airport once major upgrade works are completed.
A €30 million investment proposal to extend the runway and upgrade airport infrastructure was approved by Waterford City and County Council earlier this week. The project, fully funded by a US private investor, aims to restore commercial passenger flights to the South East for the first time since 2016.
Speaking to RTÉ News, Mr O’Leary said Ryanair would “certainly look at operating some commercial flights into Waterford if there’s a jet runway and as long as it is free.”
He added: “It is likely, I would think, we might put in a London flight. I think maybe you’d start off maybe two or three flights a week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. We’ve said this to them in writing before — if you build a jet runway, we’ll certainly look at maybe linking into London, two or three times a week, and we’ll see where it goes from there.”
Asked if Ryanair would consider operating a daily service from Waterford, Mr O’Leary said it would be “highly unlikely.” He added: “I could be surprised, and I could be wrong, and maybe it might sustain a daily flight. I can’t see us ever basing an aircraft in Waterford.”
The Council says construction is due to begin early next year, taking around 12 months to complete. In a statement, it said the investment will “pave the way for the return of scheduled passenger services by the end of 2027, with a target of handling upwards of 400,000 passengers annually within five years.”
However, Mr O’Leary dismissed that target as “pie in the sky”, saying Waterford Airport is “not a commercial proposition.”
He said: “It’s not a commercial proposition, not because there is anything wrong with Waterford, it’s just in the immediate catchment area of both Cork and Dublin. The problem with Waterford is that it is less than a two-hour drive to Cork and less than a two-hour drive to Dublin. Ultimately, Waterford is not a commercial proposition, and that’s because there’s nothing wrong with Waterford, it’s just on the wrong side of the city and it’s in the catchment area of Cork and Dublin.”
Mr O’Leary said the regional airport will likely be limited to “very small frequencies or very small schedules.”
“I have never criticised Waterford Airport, by the way, we wish them well,” he said. “Ultimately, the challenge is we have too many airports in this country and the bigger ones cannibalise the smaller ones.”
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