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Irish Examiner
30-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Kerry Airport to hit record passenger numbers with new facilities
Kerry airport is heading for record passenger numbers this year, its AGM in Tralee heard on Monday. The airport in Farranfore, which is heavily dependent on government subsidy, reported operating profit after taxation of €1,373,300 for 2024, compared to €1,198,347 in the previous year. However, without the operational expenditure Opex grant — the annual government subsidy for core services at regional airports — Kerry would have recorded a loss of €533,000, the meeting at the Ballygarry Estate Hotel was told. The Opex subsidy amounted to just over €1.392m in 2024, a decrease of €29,000 on the previous year of over €1.42m. The annual allocation is an 'esoteric process,' chairman Denis Cregan said in response to questions from the floor. The grants are published in November, and it is not yet known how much Kerry Airport, a passenger rather than a cargo airport, will be allocated for 2025. Strong performances on fuel bought by Ryanair, corporate jet business, the gift shop, and the carpark operations led to the increase in turnover. However, the county council rates bill, energy costs, and wage costs were challenges. The airport has invested around €5m of its own reserves into new arrivals and departure facilities which will open at the end of July. The spend was felt necessary for passenger convenience at the growing airport. The new facilities will mean a third gate for departures and help ease a queuing situation which has developed. An appeal went out to passengers to arrive early. 'Perhaps because it is Kerry,' people arrived last minute, often 40 minutes before departure, the AGM was told. 'We need to get the message out there: Please come early,' chief financial officer Basil Sheerin said in an appeal to passengers on the Kerry to Germany, Spain, France, London, and Dublin routes. Capital support Capital facilities as such as fire and electric buses and vehicles for internal transport received Capex or government capital support. In 2024, Kerry was allocated 637,000 in capital funding support for improvements to the runway, a new scanner, electric vehicles, and other equipment. In 2025, the allocation would be 1.83m for safety and security and further carbon reduction measures. The focus after the construction of the arrivals hall was building cash reserves to try to entice more airlines, chairman Denis Cregan, said. We are getting back now to building cash reserves to attract new carriers Kerry was very much dependant on Ryanair, including for the regional Dublin to Kerry flight which now operated on a commercial basis, the AGM heard. A better service to Dublin was needed, with earlier departure times, but the airport was dependent on Ryanair, which had taken over the once subsidised route. Should the Ryanair commercial arrangement fail, then the board would lobby the Government to re-instate the government subsidised public service obligation (PSO) route for Kerry, Mr Cregan said. Some of the existing routes by Ryanair had increased, with the Kerry flight to Alicante now operating five times a week. Three French routes with the French carrier Chalair — to Brittany, Normandy, and the Dordogne — were now in place for the next 12 weeks and overall passenger numbers this year were likely to exceed the 420,000 record set in 2009, the meeting heard. Much work was undertaken by the voluntary boards, including marketing supervision, along with efforts to develop new routes. The policy of not paying a dividend so as to further develop the airport was to continue, the well-attended meeting was told. Read More Shannon Airport Group unveils two new directors
Irish Examiner
16-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Examiner
Kerry Airport sees profits jump as it rules out any name changes
Kerry Airport has ruled out any future name change, with the board no longer considering requests to rename the private airport, as it reported a €1.37m profit last year. Results released ahead of the airport's AGM show a growth in passenger numbers as well as profit in 2024. The airport in Farranfore reported operating profit after taxation of €1,373,300, compared to €1,198,347 in the previous year. The final profit represented a 14% increase year-on-year. Last year was another record year for Kerry Airport, with 417,409 passengers, the third highest passenger numbers in the airport's history, for the year to the end of December, it said. Supported by Government grants, the result is particularly welcome in light of planned capital expenditure of over €4.4m in 2025, Basil Sheerin, chief financial officer of Kerry Airport, said. A new arrivals hall opened in March this year, and an expansion of the departures hall was due to be completed by the end of July 2025. Growth in 2024 was driven by strong performances in fuel, gift shop/duty free, and car park operations. Separately, in a letter to the monthly meeting of Kerry County Council, the secretary of the private airport said the board intended "to promote the Kerry brand" well into the future and the question of any name change was "closed". "The board considers the matter of renaming the airport at any time as closed and no further considerations will be given to requests of this nature," John O'Sullivan, airport secretary, said on behalf of the board of directors. The letter was in response to a request by the council to explore the possibility of renaming Kerry Airport after Daniel O'Connell, the Liberator, given 2025 was the 250th anniversary of the famous Kerry man's birth. The request had been given "serious consideration", Mr O'Sullivan said. However, "the board is of the strong opinion that the current 'Kerry Airport' name is an established brand both domestically and internationally". Killarney councillor John O'Donoghue, who led the move, has expressed his disappointment. O'Connell was the greatest of Kerry men and Irish men and a committed European, and the county would have benefited, he felt. "Other international airports such as the John Lennon airport in Liverpool and the George Best City airport in Belfast were named after local figures and still bore their place name and Kerry would still also be known as Kerry," he said. The councillor had made the request on foot of suggestions from the public. This article was funded by the Local Democracy Scheme Read More Kerry Airport board dismisses call to rename transport hub after Daniel O'Connell
Irish Independent
07-06-2025
- Business
- Irish Independent
Kerry Airport reports profit of almost €1.4 million for last year
The recently released report shows that Kerry Airport made a profit of €1,373,300 after tax in 2024. The figure represents a 14pc increase on the profit made in 2023. A total of 417,409 passengers travelled through the airport in 2024. Chief financial officer for Kerry Airport, Basil Sheerin, said that current expectations suggest that even more passengers will pass through in 2025. Mr Sheerin stated that the airport took in more than €8.5 million in 2024, representing a 3pc year-on-year increase. He said this growth was driven by strong performances in the airport's fuel, gift shop/duty free and car park operations. The financial officer said administrative expenses 'remain a challenge', with increased costs in wages, local authority rates, energy, maintenance exerting pressure on the airport's gross profit margin. 'We are pleased to report a final profit of €1,373,300, a 14% increase on 2023, supported by Government Grants of €1,392,878,' he said. 'This result is particularly welcome in light of our planned Capital Expenditure of over €4.4 million in 2025.' Mr Sheerin reported that feedback has been overwhelmingly positive in relation to the new arrivals hall opened at the airport in March. Construction is underway on the expansion of the departures hall, expected to be complete by the end of July. The hall will include more seating, a new smoking area, an additional boarding gate and expanded catering facilities. Mr Sheerin said the airport has committed to the science-based targets initiative for greenhouse gas emissions, is nearing the full conversion of its vehicle fleet to electric, and commenced a detailed feasibility study into on-campus energy generation. Following the publication of the Annual Report and Accounts for 2024, the AGM of Kerry Airport plc will be held at 12 noon at Ballygarry House Hotel in Tralee on Monday, June 30.
