40th anniversary of first commercial flight from Mayo airport
By Tom Gillespie
TODAY (Saturday, October 25) marks the 40th anniversary of the first commercial flights out of Ireland West Airport when three Aer Lingus charter flights took off for Rome.
The historic event in 1985 was the culmination of many years of hard work and the extraordinary vision of the late Monsignor James Horan, who saw the development of an airport as a major gateway for pilgrims to nearby Knock Shrine.
Seven months later, on a very wet Friday of May 30, 1986, the then Taoiseach, Mr. Charles Haughey, officially opened the airport complex.
Despite some criticism that the airport site was located on a ‘foggy, boggy hill’ its success has been nothing short of miraculous.
It took Monsignor Horan a tough five-year campaign to achieve his goal with the help of a £9.8 million government grant.
Sadly, Monsignor Horan died while on pilgrimage to Lourdes on Thursday, August 1, 1986, just a few months after the official opening of the airport.
His remains were flown into Knock Airport where hundreds gathered to mourn his passing. His was the first funeral to arrive into the airport. He is buried in the grounds of Knock Basilica.
The Monsignor’s achievements have been celebrated with a bronze statue erected on the approach road to the airport.
When construction work commenced on the runway a rogish Monsignor told RTÉ’s Jim Fahy: “We’re building an airport and I hope the Department of Transport doesn’t hear about it. Now don’t tell them. And we’ve no money, but we’re hoping to get it next week, or the week after.”
The mission statement from the board of directors states:
“Ireland West Airport is unique in the Irish aviation industry in that it is operated as an independent airport by Connaught Airport Development Company (CADCO) Ltd., a private company responsible for its day-to-day operation.
“The shareholding of CADCO is a partnership between the Horan Airport Trust and seven local authorities in the West and North West region who each have an 82.5 per cent and 17.5 per cent shareholding respectively of the company.
“The responsibility of the trustees of the Horan Airport Trust is to ensure that any profits generated by the airport are reinvested in the airport, with a focus on providing support to the surrounding region.
“Through this structure, a level of community and regional-economy involvement is brought to bear on the airport’s focus not common elsewhere.”
The airport is owned and operated by Connaught Airport Development Company Ltd - a private company 82.5 per cent owned by The Horan Airport Trust. The remaining 17.5 per cent is owned by seven local authorities - Donegal County Council, Galway County Council, Galway City Council, Leitrim County Council, Mayo County Council, Roscommon County Council and Sligo County Council.
In 2023 a total of 817,000 passengers used the airport and that jumped to 834,000 last year.
This year, however, the airport will see an all time record with a staggering 900,000 passengers availing of the facility to jet to 22 destinations - London (Luton), Manchester, Birmingham, Lourdes, Medjugorje, Lanzarote, London (Heathrow), Tenerife, Groningen, Alicante, Cologne, Barcelona, Bristol, Cadiz, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Malaga, Faro, Liverpool, London (Stansted), Palma (Majorca) and Milan.
Ryanair and Aer Lingus are the main carriers out of Ireland West Airport.
The provision of sheltered walkways to the aircraft were completed during this year and were top of the list for many passengers.