Ireland West Airport Knock has been allocated €356k of grant funding under the 2010 Core Operational Expenditure Scheme, following an application made to the Department of Transport earlier this year.
Welcoming the announcement, Liam Scollan, Chairman (Ireland West Airport Knock ) said: “I wish to thank the Minister for Transport and the Government representatives locally for their interventions to secure this support. The level of overall financial support is of a smaller scale than other regional airports or the scale of continued government public investment in the DAA run airports. This is as a result of our continued drive to maximise self financing from airport related commercial and aviation revenues. We expect passenger numbers to be close to 2009 levels despite the traffic disruptions from ash earlier in year and the economic downturn.”
The airport returns in excess of €10m annually in tax and PRSI revenues to the exchequer and supports approximately €60m in tourism spend. “Records show that State investment in this airport has delivered great returns and it is our intention that a collaborative approach between State support, private investment, and our own commercial returns will form the basis of a strong sustainable airport for this region.”
The investment has been welcomed by local politicians for the airport which sees a throughput of up to 100,000 passengers a year.
