Business
Knock Airport breaks 700,000 passenger mark in a year
Ireland West Airport Knock has enjoyed a record breaking year, with passenger numbers exceeding 700,000 for the first time in the airport’s 29 year history.
The number of passengers using the airport increased by over 38,000 to 703,324 – an increase of 5.7% on 2013 – meaning it now serves over 20 international destinations and is served by three of Europe’s major international airlines, Aer Lingus, Flybe and Ryanair.
August 2014 also saw the airport experience its busiest ever month with a total of 102,774 passengers passing through the terminal – the first time in the 28 year history that over 100,000 passengers have used the airport in a calendar month.
The year 2014 saw a major increase in traffic to/from the UK, which represents the airports biggest market, with traffic up 9.4% on 2013 numbers.
Particularly strong performers were Ryanair’s London services to Stansted and Luton, which carried an extra 44,000 passengers (up 20%), whilst Aer Lingus’ London Gatwick service grew by 6%. Flybe services to Manchester and Birmingham, also performed strongly with passenger numbers up 9% across both routes.
And its position as a gateway to the west was underlined recently as seven local authorities – including both Galway City and County Councils – have approved in principle to take an investment in the airport. They are joined by Councils in Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and Roscommon and Mayo.
In addition, a number of important safety and security upgrades were carried out at the airport in 2014 including the installation of an airport wide CCTV system, costing €200,000, across the entire airport facility providing enhanced security and safety measures for passengers and staff at the airport, whilst a €1.7m upgrade of the Runway End Safety Area and aircraft turning circle was completed in 2014 to meet existing regulatory requirements.
“We are delighted to have had a record year in 2014 with record numbers on almost all of our services, highlighting the airports importance as the main international gateway for the West & North West of Ireland and indeed the Wild Atlantic Way,” said Joe Gilmore, Managing Director at Ireland West Airport Knock.
The new President of Local Ireland, the association representing local news publishers around the country, is Head of Irish Times Regionals Dan Linehan.
Mr Linehan takes over the presidency from Declan McGuire of the Connacht Tribune. His appointment was confirmed at the recent Annual General Meeting of Local Ireland at Bloomfield House Hotel near Mullingar, Westmeath.
Mr Linehan, who has served as Vice President of the organisation for the last two years, said: “The coming years are a very important time for local publishers with many important issues to be addressed, including the implementation of the Future of Media Commission recommendations, defamation reform, the role and support for local publishers in public service reporting and helping publishers develop commercial digital offerings.”
Speaking at the AGM, Mr McGuire acknowledged the work done by the Executive in the past two years under the direction of Executive Director, Bob Hughes, on several projects related to the publishing industry but most especially the successful conclusion of the long-running campaign for the abolition of VAT on newspapers.
He also wished Mr Linehan the very best in his new role as President of the association for the next two years.
Mr Hughes thanked Mr McGuire for his leadership and support during his term of office and said he looked forward to working with Mr Linehan on the key policy priorities for the association, including Government supports, Government advertising, fair remuneration for content from the tech platforms and the reform of the legislation for defamation.
Local Ireland members also elected Seán Mahon, Managing Director of the Southern Star, as Vice President for the next two years.
The shortage of affordable housing is the single biggest impediment in attracting and retaining workers in the West, according to business group Ibec.
At a ‘Regional Insights Series’ meeting in the Galmont Hotel in Galway last week, employers were told that capacity constraints and labour supply are the key challenges facing business growth in the region.
Ibec Head of Regional Policy Helen Leahy said: “There must be greater focus by government on enhancing quality of life issues such as housing and infrastructure which are driving labour shortages in the region.
“Ibec’s vision for the West is to realise its potential to become a globally competitive location. An inadequate supply of affordable housing is now the single largest impediment to attracting and retaining talented workers, without whom business investment and expansions are not possible.
“Labour shortages are a real concern for businesses in the region. People decide where to live and work based on quality of life and access to high quality services and amenities. Industry tends to follow talent, and in this regard, the region needs to have all the building blocks in place as the attraction and retention of world-class talent becomes increasingly competitive on a global level,” said Ms Leahy.
Amongst Ibec’s priorities for the West are:
- Addressing housing and infrastructure challenges
- Transitioning towards a new growth model with Net Zero energy powered by Atlantic offshore wind resources
- Adapting businesses to the new economic realities
- Enhancing capacity and skillsets to achieve sustainable development objectives
- Investment in people and skills
- Creating competitive advantage through digitalisation
- Innovation as a key driver of productivity growth
One in five Galway businesses want to go fully cashless, as the move towards card payments and tapping continues unabated post-Covid.
In all, 22% of Galway businesses would like to be fully cashless, according to a survey carried out by BOI Payment Acceptance (BOIPA), a provider of payment technology solutions, which asked Irish businesses about the current payment landscape as well as business confidence and concerns.
Over one-third (36%) of Galway businesses were unaware there is no contactless limit on mobile wallets – just below the national average – while 54% believe the increase in card over cash transactions has helped them run their business.
Six out of ten Galway businesses expect to grow this year despite the cost-of-living crisis and running costs dominating as key concerns; 62% believe their business will grow over the next twelve months despite global economic uncertainty.
Unsurprisingly cost-of-living increases and running costs were the main concerns the majority of businesses had.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
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