There has been a surge in signatures on an online petition to reopen Galway Airport this week.
On Wednesday, the National Flight Centre, a long-established flight training organisation in Kildare, lent its name to the petition, stating that what was once Europe’s fastest growing airport could again be a driver of aviation activity and economic development.
The facility currently does not have an aviation licence, so any landing requests are referred to Inverin.
The ‘Re-open Carnmore Airport’ poll on Change.org was first published in May, but over the past week it has attracted almost 1,000 signatures, and stands at 1,616 at time of going to print on Wednesday afternoon.
The petition was started by Larry Walsh and his son, also Larry, who have set out a list of economic, tourism and transport reasons why the Carnmore facility should function as a regional airport.
Galway Airport effectively closed for scheduled services to Dublin, Britain and elsewhere in 2011 when Aer Arann withdrew its operation after its public subsidy was cancelled due to the Government’s recession-era austerity measures.
In 2015, the airport was briefly reopened for business jet traffic, and then became a drive-through testing facility during the Covid-19 pandemic. Since then the property – jointly owned by Galway city and county councils – has been used occasionally as a concert venue.
The two local authorities purchased Carnmore in 2013 for €1.1m, and earlier this year invited expressions of interest from potential buyers for the 118-acre site next to the M6 motorway.
The site has strategic economic status under the County Development Plan, and its development potential means it could be worth between €10m and €18m on the open market, returning a healthy return on investment for the two local authorities. It may also be swapped with another public body, such as the IDA.
Galway Airport has the capacity to be used as an air refuelling station for Search & Rescue services, military aviation, European air freight and off-shore energy infrastructure support.
It is occasionally used for the rapid transport of vital manufacturing components from Britain and Europe for the region’s pharmaceutical and medical devices industries.
This month, Galway city and county councillors voted to renew Galway Flying Club’s €10,000 lease to use the aerodrome for one more year. The club will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2026.
