The Taoiseach has officially re-opened the newly reconstructed main runway at Cork Airport.
Micheál Martin attended a ceremony on the runway this afternoon to mark the completion of the fastest large-scale construction project in Ireland in recent years.
The €40 million project to replace the 2.1 kilometre runway and runway lights involved 430 employees and took ten weeks.
Eight airlines have so far signed up to operate from the airport, with the first flight taking off on Monday morning.
Speaking to RedFM News on the runway, Managing Director of Cork Airport, Niall MacCarthy says he is delighted with the project:
"It's on time, it's on budget. There was a lot of controversies you know about this project people didn't want us to close. We said we will close for 10 weeks in the offseason, we'll rebuild the infrastructure. It'll be short, sharp shock. And then we've bounced back with eight airlines signed up now. We've 23 routes for the winter and 36 routes for the summer. Next year we'll carry 70% Of the passengers of 2019, which is an incredible recovery from the depths of COVID. We're still talking to more airlines and we're confident about next year. We did, and we will deliver for the people of Cork in the south of Ireland."
