Here’s what’s going on behind the hoarding at Europe’s best regional airport
11:40, 29 Jan 2026Updated 14:25, 29 Jan 2026
Work is progressing on a major upgrade project at Cork Airport(Image: Cork Airport/Kachmarsky via Facebook)
If you’ve travelled through Cork Airport recently, you probably noticed a lot of construction zones, hammering noises and hoarding shielding ongoing works.
Half of the terminal has become a building site as work steadily progresses on a major €200 million update for Europe’s best small airport. Crews are working on a new mezzanine floor, a new passenger security screening area, and a “refreshed” arrivals area.
The ambitious project is scheduled for completion in December, and the team at the airport have been keeping customers in the loop as to what’s going on behind the hoarding. Construction is ongoing for infrastructure upgrades that will be critical to Cork Airport’s development and growth towards its 5 million passenger capacity – and beyond. Renowned Cork construction firm PJ Hegarty is handling the project.
Cork Airport has shared its third major update, with a handy video giving passengers a sneak peek into how the construction crew are getting on – with timelapse video of building work on the new arrivals area, mezzanine floor and security screening zone.
See the impressive video below:
When completed, the fast-growing airport will have a state-of-the-art security screening area, new café/bar, and upgraded car hire services. The mezzanine include a larger executive lounge and an expanded duty-free shop.
Posting the clip to their official Cork Airport social media channels, the team have shared their excitement as the project progresses. Communications Manager Barry Holland says: “There has been a significant amount of progress in the site behind the hoarding just here.”
Senior Project Manager Feidhlim O’Neill speaks in the video, sharing how the crew has dedicated over 25,000 man-hours on site. He said: “In the arrivals area, we’ve now completed the installation of approximately half of the steel columns and beams with over 200 tonnes of steel erected to date.”
The crew is facilitating the majority of large deliveries and lifts of steel overnight(Image: Cork Airport/Kachmarsky via Facebook)
He walks us through the new arrivals area, showing off the completed concrete flooring and structural frame for the new mezzanine floor, and explaining how the crew have to carefully lift the heavy steel beams into place – and adds that tackling such precise work in a working airport is “significantly challenging.”
“We’ve ensured that all our major lifts and delivering are carried out at night time and quiet times to avoid disruptions to the airport operations,” he added, and commended the teams working day and night. Over 500 cubes of concrete will be poured over the next few months. Once the concrete slabs are completed the fit out can start on the new security screening and passenger arrivals area
The project is scheduled for completion in December 2026(Image: Cork Airport/Kachmarsky via Facebook)
It is part of a €200 million capital investment programme at Ireland’s fastest-growing airport(Image: Cork Airport/Kachmarsky via Facebook)
The new security area will be equipped with the latest C3 scanners, which will allow passengers to keep their liquids inside their bags as they pass through the screening area. Once the new floor is complete, Cork Airport is expected to follow similar rules to those recently announced for Dublin Airport. The C3 scanners are currently being manufactured and will be delivered this summer.
Since the project started, over 1 million passengers have passed through the airport uninterrupted as the works continue. Mr O’Neill said: “Overall we are extremely happy with the progress and the project is progressing very well.”
The project forms part of daa’s €200 million investment programme at Cork Airport, which also includes new boarding gates, airbridges, aircraft parking stands, a long-term car park extension and a 1.7MW solar farm.
The airport is seeing steady growth and 34,000 passengers will fly to and from Cork Airport over the coming St. Brigid’s Bank Holiday weekend. Since its introduction in 2023, the bank holiday has proven to be a popular weekend for international travel with many taking the opportunity to enjoy a weekend city break in the UK or Europe.
The bank holiday weekend will also see thousands of passengers fly into Cork as visitors come to enjoy Cork and the surrounding region on a weekend when the country honours its female patron saint. This weekend, visitors can enjoy local festivals like the Ballincollig Winter Music Festival and Kinsale Beatlemania Weekend among other events around Cork.
Cork Airport recorded a very strong start to 2026, and the airport’s ski services were exceptionally busy on services to Lyon, Munich, Salzburg and the newest addition, Geneva. Over the past two weekends, Topflight for Schools has introduced its seasonal charter services to Verona, with students from schools across Munster and beyond flying to the slopes for ski holidays.
With the 2026 Summer Schedule starting in March, three new routes will be added this year – two new Aer Lingus routes to Nice, France and Santiago de Compostela, Spain along with a new SunExpress route to Antalya in Türkiye.