Waterford Airport

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Waterford Airport Aerphort Phort Láirge

IATA: WAT - ICAO: EIWF
Summary
Airport type		Public
Operator		Waterford Airport Company/Comhlacht Aerphort Phort Láirge
Serves		Waterford
Elevation AMSL		119 ft (36 m)
Coordinates		52°11′14″N, 007°05′13″W
Runways
Direction	Length		Surface
Direction	ft	m	Surface
03/21	4,701	1,433	Asphalt

Waterford Airport (IATA: WAT, ICAO: EIWF), or Aerphort Phort Láirge in Irish, also known as the South East Regional Airport, is located near Waterford on the south-east coast of the Republic of Ireland.

Airport development was initiated by Waterford Corporation with Irish Government and private support in 1979–1980. The investment was £1.76 million. The airport opened in 1981 with a 1,200-metre long, 29-metre wide runway for single and twin-engine light aircraft and a Portacabin as terminal building. In 1992 the current terminal building was opened and the runway extended to its current length of 1,433 metres an increased to 30 metres wide.

Avair provided the first domestic passenger service in 1982, between Cork, Waterford and Dublin. In 1985 Ryanair launched the company's first passenger scheduled service from Waterford, flying to London Gatwick, before upgrading and switching the service to London Luton. At various times, services have been provided by Aer Lingus 1987 to 1988 (Dublin), Orient Air 1993 (Gloucester, London Luton and Jersey), Manx Airlines 1993 to 2000 (London Stansted and Manchester) later to become British Regional Airlines, and then part of the British Airways group, Suckling Airways 1994 to 1999 (London Luton) later to become Scotairways, Emerald Airways 1996 (Liverpool), Euroceltic Airways 2001 to 2003 (London Luton, Liverpool & Dublin). In 2006 Waterford Airport celebrated 21 years of scheduled operations.

Aer Arann is currently the only scheduled airline using Waterford Airport operating daily services to London Luton with three flights weekly to Manchester and summer services to Lorient. From May 2007 Aer Arann will open a base at Waterford to be operated by a single ATR 72. This aircraft will operate all existing services from Waterford and allow for increased frequency to London and Manchester as well as a new service to Birmingham. Since 2003 passenger traffic numbers on Aer Arann services from Waterford have continued to grow.

2003 - 24,000 passengers
2004 - 55,000 passengers
2005 - 71,000 passengers
2006 - 85,000 passengers

Waterford Airport is the base for the South East Rescue Helicopter operated by the Irish Coast Guard and provides 24 hour marine rescue cover. The Pilot Training College of Ireland flight training organisation, approved by the Irish Aviation Authority, and carrying out commercial pilot training is based here. Pilot training forms a major part of the day-to-day activity at the airport. Waterford Aero Club is based at the airport. On 21 February 2007, the Irish Government announced that it would be giving €22.3 million to the airport in capital grant money. This includes widening and extending the runway.

1 Expansion
2 Airlines and destinations
3 Companies based at Waterford Airport
4 Airport data
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Expansion

On the 13th of March 2007 a €27.5 million upgrade of Waterford Airport was announced. Over the next two years the money will be spent on extending the runway, building a new passenger terminal capable of handling one million passengers a year and introducing scheduled flights to European cities such as Amsterdam,Barcelona,Paris,Prague and Rome. There will also be charter flights to Mediterranean holiday resorts. The expansion will mean that air travellers in the southeast of Ireland will soon have a "credible alternative" to Dublin and Cork airports, according to officials at Waterford Airport. The chief executive of Waterford Airport Graham Doyle said "the extended runway, which we hope to have in place by summer 2009, will allow the airport to handle large jet aircraft, including the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737".

[edit] Airlines and destinations

Aer Arann (Birmingham [Starts 14 May], Lorient [Starts 23 May], London-Luton, Manchester)
Slattery Travel (Bordeaux, Faro, Malaga) [Starts 22 June], services operated by Nordic Airways.

[edit] Companies based at Waterford Airport

Aer Arann (Waterford base opens 14th May 2007)
Blue Star Helicopters (Pilot training)
CHC Ireland (operator of Coast Guard Helicopter)
Clarke Aviation (recreational flying)
International Academy of Travel
Pilot Training College Ireland (Pilot training)
Shamrock Aviation (Aircraft Maintenance)
Waterford Aero Club (Pilot training)

[edit] Airport data

Aerodrome licensed for: International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Category A & B aircraft
ICAO RFF: Category 2, with up to Category 6 available on request
Aerodrome elevation: 36.3 m (119 ft)
Runways: Asphalt (PCN 12-15) RWY03 and RWY21
Take off distance available: 1,433 m (4,701 ft), for both runways
Landing distance available:
- RWY03 1,343 m (4,406 ft)
- RWY21 1,290 m (4,232 ft)
Waterford tower: 129.85 MHz
Waterford ATIS 121.15 MHz (also available by telephoning 00353-51-877000)
Waterford Ground 121.6 MHz
Waterford information: 129.85 MHz
Navigation aids: ILS (RWY 21) Cat 1 110.9 MHz IWD, DME (Zero range THR RWY 21) 110.9 MHz IWD, NDB (DOC 15nm) 368 kHz WTD