Kerry Airport

Kerry Airport
Aerfort Chiarraí
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorKerry Airport plc
ServesCounty Kerry, Ireland
LocationFarranfore, County Kerry
Opened25 August 1969 (1969-08-25)
Elevation AMSL112 ft / 34 m
Coordinates52°10′51″N 009°31′26″W / 52.18083°N 9.52389°W / 52.18083; -9.52389 (Kerry Airport)
Websitewww.kerryairport.ie
Map
KIR
Location of Kerry Airport in Ireland
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08/26 2,000 6,562 Asphalt
Statistics (2024)
Passengers412,034
Passenger change 23-24 1%
Source: Irish AIS[1]
Passengers[2]

Kerry Airport (Irish: Aerfort Chiarraí; IATA: KIR, ICAO: EIKY), often called Farranfore Airport, is an international airport in Farranfore, County Kerry, Ireland. It is 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi) north[1] off the Ring of Kerry and 8 nautical miles (15 km; 9.2 mi) southeast[1] of the county town, Tralee. Passenger services are operated by Ryanair and more recently French airline Chalair.[3] In 2024, Kerry Airport handled 417,409 passengers.[4][5]

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.[6]

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.[6]

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.[6]

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.[7]

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.[8]

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.[9] The operating profit for the year 2015 was €30,980.[10]

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.[11]

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.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14] However, Stobart Air collapsed part way through.[15] Ryanair subsequently picked up the route, this time on a commercial basis with no subsidy.[16]

In January 2020, Ryanair announced they would commence a twice weekly flight to Manchester from 29 March 2020, every Thursday and Sunday.[17]

Planning permission was granted in 2023 for a new two-storey extension to the terminal, additional departure gate, new arrivals & baggage reclaim area.[18]

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate scheduled flights to and from Kerry Airport:[19][20]

AirlinesDestinations
Chalair Aviation Seasonal: Brest,[21] Brive,[21] Caen,[21] Pau[22]
Ryanair Dublin,[23] Frankfurt-Hahn,[24] London–Luton,[24] London–Stansted,[24] Manchester[24]
Seasonal: Alicante,[21] Faro[21]

Statistics

Passenger numbers
Year Passenger numbers % Change YoY
2005 385,825
2006 392,576 1.7%
2007 391,138 0.4%
2008 426,115 8.9%
2009 356,738 16.3%
2010 383,866 7.6%
2011 310,937 19.0%
2012 286,442 7.9%
2013 306,042 6.8%
2014 294,955 3.6%
2015 303,039 2.7%
2016 325,670 7.5%
2017 335,480 3.0%
2018 365,339 8.9%
2019 369,863 1.2%
2020 82,959 77.6%
2021 115,398 39.1%
2022 355,043 207.7%
2023 414,571 16.8%
2024 412,034 0.6%
Source: Central Statistics Office[25]
5 busiest routes at Kerry Airport (2024)
Rank Airport Passengers
Handled		 % Change
2023/24
1 Dublin 114,255 3.8
2 London-Luton 110,382 6.10
3 London–Stansted 58,386 19.71
4 Alicante 40,599 22.13
5 Manchester Airport 32,408 -
Source: Central Statistics Office[26]

Ground transport

Train

Farranfore Airport has no direct access by rail, although Iarnród Éireann's Farranfore railway station is located 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) 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 kilometres (58 mi) from Limerick and approximately 106 kilometres (66 mi) from Cork. Dublin is around 286 kilometres (178 mi) 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,[27] 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[28]
  • Route 40: Cork - Tralee (limited service) [29]
  • Route 271: Tralee - Castleisland - Kerry Airport - Killarney[30]

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.[31]

References

  1. ^ a b c EIKY – KERRY (PDF). AIP and charts from AirNav Ireland.
  2. ^ "Kerry Airport experienced its highest passenger numbers in over a decade last year". Archived from the original on 8 March 2024. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  3. ^ "Kerry Airport Timetables". Kerry Airport. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  4. ^ "Kerry Airport Records Over 417,000 Passengers in 2024". IrishAero - Irish Aviation Research Institute. 31 January 2025. Archived from the original on 24 March 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  5. ^ "Over 400,000 Passengers Used Kerry Airport in 2024". FlyingInIreland.com. 19 January 2025. Archived from the original on 22 January 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  6. ^ a b c "History - Kerry Airport". kerryairport.ie. Archived from the original on 3 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  7. ^ "About Kerry Airport". Kerry Airport. 2014. Archived from the original on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  8. ^ "Ryanair will take up Kerrry offer". RTÉ News. 15 May 2008. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 15 October 2010.
  9. ^ Donal Hickey (4 June 2010). "Kerry Airport reports 11% fall in passengers". Irish Examiner. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  10. ^ "Kerry Airport Reports Increase In Operating Profit - traleetoday.ie". 30 May 2016. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 3 July 2016.
  11. ^ "20 jobs to go at Kerry Airport". RTÉ News. 5 January 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2011. Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  12. ^ O'Brien, Ciara (14 March 2012). "Airlines to expand Aer Lingus Regional deal". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Kerry Airport passenger numbers down 4% in 2014". The Irish Times. 26 May 2015. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  14. ^ Quann, Jack (12 January 2018). "New contract awarded for air routes between Donegal, Kerry and Dublin". newstalk.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2018.
  15. ^ Goodbody, Will (12 June 2021). "Aer Lingus regional flights operated by Stobart Air cancelled". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 12 June 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2021.
  16. ^ "Ryanair confirms Dublin-Kerry launch in early 3Q21". CH Aviation. 15 July 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2022. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Kerry Airport Announces New Manchester Route With Ryanair From 29th March 2020". Kerry Airport. 23 January 2020. Archived from the original on 12 August 2025. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  18. ^ "Kerry Airport granted planning permission for significant extension and new departure gate". RadioKerry.ie. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  19. ^ kerryairport.ie - Flight Timetables Archived 20 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 9 September 2020
  20. ^ Goodbody, Will (27 March 2023). "Kerry Airport to get two new summer routes to France". RTE News. Archived from the original on 27 March 2023. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  21. ^ a b c d e O'Mahony, John (19 January 2025). "More flights to Spain, Portugal and France from Kerry". Killarney Today. Archived from the original on 23 July 2025. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  22. ^ "Aéroport de Pau : destination la Corse, la Bretagne et l'Irlande cet été". SudOuest.fr. 2 February 2024. Archived from the original on 13 February 2024. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  23. ^ Dwyer, Mark (18 January 2026). "2025 a Record-Breaking Year for Kerry Airport as Search for New CEO Begins". Flying Ireland. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  24. ^ a b c d O'Mahony, John (12 January 2026). "Record-breaking year for Kerry Airport". Killarney Today. Archived from the original on 13 January 2026. Retrieved 1 February 2026.
  25. ^ "TAA05 Passengers Airports in Ireland 2005-2024". Central Statistics Office. 3 July 2025. Archived from the original on 25 August 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2025.
  26. ^ CSO, Central Statistics Office (14 April 2024). "Aviation Statistics Quarter 4 and Year 2022". CSO. Central Statistics Office. Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  27. ^ "Car Rental". Kerry Airport. Archived from the original on 7 April 2015. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
  28. ^ "Bus Éireann timetable" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  29. ^ "Bus Eireann Route 40" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  30. ^ "Bus Eireann Route 271" (PDF). Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  31. ^ Lucey, Anne (22 December 2010). "Cabin smoke triggers emergency evacuation of Ryanair flight in Kerry". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
  • Media related to Kerry Airport at Wikimedia Commons
  • Official website
  • "Current weather for EIKY". NOAA/NWS.
  • Accident history for KIR at Aviation Safety Network
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