Kerry Airport

History

Foundation and early years

Kerry Airport was incorporated as a public limited company in July 1968, with its main objective of building and managing an airport at Farranfore. Various share capital fundraising programmes were undertaken and, together with great assistance from the various statutory bodies over the years, the airport has developed from a runway of 1,090 metres x 23 metres commissioned in 1969, to a runway of 1,239m x 30m commissioned in 1989, and a new runway of 2,000m x 45m opened in May 1994.

The first aircraft to land at Kerry Airport, on 25 August 1969, was piloted by Captain Milo Carr of the Department of Transport and Power. For a number of years the only aircraft using the aerodrome were light private aircraft and the occasional charter or cargo flight; extensive parachuting also took place. The first scheduled service was inaugurated in July 1979, using an Islander aircraft operated by Aer Arann.

Encouraged by the apparent success of other regional airports in Ireland, the board of directors drew up a development plan to lengthen and widen the runway to 1,200m x 30m and to extend and upgrade the terminal buildings and to install an Instrument Landing System and appropriate lighting.

On 5 August 1983, an Air France Concorde flew by Kerry Airport during visits to Dublin and Shannon Airport.

The runway was completed on schedule; the first scheduled flight into Kerry was on 22 May 1989 from Dublin by Aer Lingus, followed the next day by Ryanair from London-Luton. The contract for the new runway of 2,000m x 45m and the new terminal was signed in May 1993, and the official sod-turning ceremony was performed by Dick Spring TD, the Tánaiste.

The Runway 08/26 was licensed by the Irish Aviation Authority on 20 May 1994, and the first flight landed at 13:23 local time on 20 May. It was a PA28 aircraft registration G-BLSD from Manchester, piloted by C. Gurley. This was followed by the first commercial flight by Aer Lingus, a Saab 340. Its registration was EI-CFD and it was commanded by Captain Peter Heinz.

Development since the 2000s

The Government of Ireland has previously subsidised regional services under a PSO programme. A tender is offered for airlines to provide a minimum level of service in return for subsidy and a monopoly of the route. The tender is published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Aer Arann were re-awarded the PSO for the 2005 offer programme but in 2008 it was awarded to Ryanair.

The airport is a public limited company, but is not quoted on any stock exchange. It had an operating profit of €179,329 in 2009 on a turnover of €6,252,221. This represented a fall of 32% from the previous financial year. The operating profit for the year 2015 was €30,980.

In January 2011, it was announced that 20 of the airport's 65 staff would be made redundant, owing to a fall in passenger numbers following Ryanair's withdrawal from its public service obligation (PSO) contract.

It was announced in February 2012 that, owing to the codeshare agreement with Aer Lingus, the currently operated Dublin service with Aer Arann would be operated from 30 October 2012 under the brand Aer Lingus Regional. Aer Arann was later rebranded as Stobart Air. Passenger numbers on the Dublin route operated by Aer Lingus Regional, increased by 13.5% in 2014.

In February 2017, Ryanair announced they would commence a twice-weekly service to Berlin–Schönefeld from 2 November 2017.

In January 2018 Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Stobart Air, following a public tendering process was awarded a Public Service Obligation contract, linking the airport with Dublin, for the next four years. However, Stobart Air collapsed part way through. Ryanair subsequently picked up the route, this time on a commercial basis with no subsidy.

In January 2020, Ryanair announced they would commence a twice weekly flight to Manchester from 29 March 2020, every Thursday and Sunday.

Planning permission was granted in 2023 for a new two-storey extension to the terminal, additional departure gate, new arrivals & baggage reclaim area.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate scheduled flights to and from Kerry Airport: | Chalair Aviation | Seasonal: Brest, Brive, Caen, Pau | Ryanair | Dublin, Hahn, London–Luton, London–Stansted, Manchester Seasonal: Alicante, Faro

Statistics

Ground transport

Train

Farranfore Airport has no direct access by rail, although Iarnród Éireann's Farranfore railway station is located 1.6 km to the south, offering direct services to Tralee and Killarney. As of May 2023, no shuttle bus operates between the airport and the train station.

Road

Kerry Airport is located on the N23 approximately 94 km from Limerick and approximately 106 km from Cork. Dublin is around 286 km away from the airport. The N22 connects Tralee and Killarney where the N23 joins up with. Car Rental services at Kerry Airport are located in the Long Term Car Park, with a range of providers offering services. Kerry Airport also offers taxis from directly outside the terminal entrance.

Bus

An airport bus terminal opened in January 2006.

Bus Éireann services from/to the airport:

• Route 14: Limerick - Killarney
• Route 40: Cork - Tralee (limited service)
• Route 271: Tralee - Castleisland - Kerry Airport - Killarney

Incidents and accidents

• On 21 December 2010, Ryanair flight FR701 from London-Stansted was evacuated using emergency chutes due to smoke detected in the cockpit and cabin by passengers and crew during the landing. Investigators inspected the plane, but nothing major was found and the plane reentered service in the following days after the incident.

References

References

1. {{AIP IE. EIKY. 2e3c03a7-f1b0-4be1-81fb-525bc4415dee. kerry
2. "Kerry Airport experienced its highest passenger numbers in over a decade last year".
3. "Kerry Airport Timetables". Kerry Airport.
4. (31 January 2025). "Kerry Airport Records Over 417,000 Passengers in 2024".
5. (19 January 2025). "Over 400,000 Passengers Used Kerry Airport in 2024".
6. "History - Kerry Airport".
7. (2014). "About Kerry Airport". Kerry Airport.
8. (15 May 2008). "Ryanair will take up Kerrry offer". RTÉ News.
9. Donal Hickey. (4 June 2010). "Kerry Airport reports 11% fall in passengers". [[Irish Examiner]].
10. (30 May 2016). "Kerry Airport Reports Increase In Operating Profit - traleetoday.ie".
11. (5 January 2011). "20 jobs to go at Kerry Airport". RTÉ News.
12. (14 March 2012). "Airlines to expand Aer Lingus Regional deal". The Irish Times.
13. (26 May 2015). "Kerry Airport passenger numbers down 4% in 2014". The Irish Times.
14. (12 January 2018). "New contract awarded for air routes between Donegal, Kerry and Dublin".
15. (12 June 2021). "Aer Lingus regional flights operated by Stobart Air cancelled". RTÉ News.
16. (2021-07-15). "Ryanair confirms Dublin-Kerry launch in early 3Q21". CH Aviation.
17. (23 January 2020). "Kerry Airport Announces New Manchester Route With Ryanair From 29th March 2020". Kerry Airport.
18. "Kerry Airport granted planning permission for significant extension and new departure gate".
19. [http://kerryairport.ie/website/flights-from-kerry-airport/timetable/ kerryairport.ie - Flight Timetables] {{Webarchive. link. (20 August 2017 retrieved 9 September 2020)
20. (27 March 2023). "Kerry Airport to get two new summer routes to France". RTE News.
21. (30 March 2023). "Chalair Adds Kerry Service in 3Q23".
22. (26 December 2024). "Chalair NS25 Brive Network Expansion".
23. "Chalair NS24 France – Kerry Service Changes".
24. (2 February 2024). "Aéroport de Pau : destination la Corse, la Bretagne et l'Irlande cet été".
25. . (August 2023). "Kerry, Ireland Republic Of". *[[OAG (company)*.
26. "Ryanair Moves Additional Routes to Ryanair UK in NS23".
27. (3 July 2025). "TAA05 Passengers Airports in Ireland 2005-2024". Central Statistics Office.
28. CSO, Central Statistics Office. (14 April 2024). "Aviation Statistics Quarter 4 and Year 2022". Central Statistics Office.
29. "Car Rental".
30. "Bus Éireann timetable".
31. "Bus Eireann Route 40".
32. (September 2025). "Bus Eireann Route 271".
33. (22 December 2010). "Cabin smoke triggers emergency evacuation of Ryanair flight in Kerry". The Irish Times.