Cork Airport - Annual report

Cork Airport is unlikely to meet its previously stated target of breaking even, on a cash basis, by the end of this year, but its owners remain "focused" on returning the airport to growth.

The latest annual report and accounts from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) — published yesterday — show that passenger traffic at Cork Airport declined by 3.5% to 2.3m people in 2013.
This was largely down to a general weakening in traffic on routes to Britain, but was also affected by Hungarian carrier Wizz Air — which had operated six routes from Cork to destinations in Poland and Lithuania — ceasing its operations from the airport due to competitive pressures.

Speaking at yesterday’s results announcement — which showed a 6% rise to 20.2m in passengers at Dublin Airport — DAA chief Kevin Toland said the company remains focused on “stabilising and growing passenger numbers at Cork Airport”.

He added that achieving growth at the airport, is “a key priority” for the DAA.

While Cork is still loss-making, those losses have reduced, largely thanks to a business improvement plan implemented last year.

A new €100,000 advertising campaign, promoting the airport across the Munster region, has been launched and the DAA is hopeful of re-instating some form of a Cork-Dublin link, as previously provided by Aer Arann and Ryanair.

The DAA’s annual report also showed that the company’s core profit fell by 7% to €26m last year, mainly due to the group’s Aer Rianta International (ARI) overseas retail business exiting from Russia and the Ukraine.

Transfer passengers, through Dublin Airport, jumped by 36% last year to 548,000 people and have increased by a further 30% so far this year.

That positive movement has elevated Dublin into the top tier of European airports for flights to North America, and the authority is aiming to grow transfer traffic through Dublin to about two million passengers per year “in the near term”.

Irish Examiner

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