Cork Airport - *Read Mod Note in First Post Before Posting*

snotboogie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036507#Comment_123036507

A pre clearance facility was going to be built as part of the deal with Delta.

Chris_5339762

Changing the subject a little, now that its 2025, are there any updates on the C3 scanner install? I know they have to do quite major expansion works which I heard were starting this year, but I haven't heard anything new for quite some time now.

TheBrownBird32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036852#Comment_123036852

I think I read thats due to be completed at the end of the year, same with the solar farm

airy fairy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123036852#Comment_123036852

Early 2023 I was told by someone working there that it was to be done and finished by Autumn 2023 or Spring 24. I'm not sure the football for such an expansion is warranted though?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037121#Comment_123037121

What solar farm? Me er knew this was under construction?

TheBrownBird32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037152#Comment_123037152

I can’t remember where I saw it but the C3 scanners were supposed to be installed already but have been delayed a year.

Theres a solar farm being built by the Blue Holiday car park, it has been planned for some time, originally planned down near the end of RWY34

hans aus dtschl

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037289#Comment_123037289

Over the car park is my understanding. The panels forming kind of "shelters" over the cars. Not sure if I just mis-read that one but it sounded very clever to me.

Acosta

That article said the solar farm is being built from September. I wonder how much of it they will need to close? Because it was full when I parked there last September.

Chris_5339762

I'd say they'll do it in sections once the summer rush is over. Close 1/4 of it, solar panels in, close the next 1/4 etc.

At guesswork, it'll probably be similar to this.

https://www.solarsense-uk.com/commercials/commercial-ev-charging-and-solar-carports/

Should be done in a LOT more places I think.

Edit: As an aside, putting these on fields is great too. Much more diverse wildflowers form in the shelter, animals (sheep etc) do FAR better as they have shelter, etc etc. They are a win win.

Acosta

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123037896#Comment_123037896

Definitely a good idea. Both for energy and as a coverage in bad weather. Not sure about the timing though. Looks like a job for January/February/March. September seems to be busier in the car park than July and August.

StormForce13

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123042092#Comment_123042092

The blue car park was completely full in early October last year as I discovered to my cost! And I had tried to book it a fortnight before travelling.

Pablo Escobar

Cork Airport broke the 3m passenger barrier last year with 3.1m passengers using the airport in the year.

TheBrownBird32

2025 should be the busiest year ever with all the new summer routes.

TheBetsy

No new route from Ryanair is a bit disappointing and no new EU capitals served. The whole DAA incentive scheme doesn't seem to have had a huge effect at all

snotboogie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053633#Comment_123053633

I imagine seat numbers will be down unless KLM step up the AMS service? The new services are all twice weekly max, AE to AMS was nearly double daily.

TheBrownBird32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053701#Comment_123053701

I would have thought Ryanair wouldn't have been able to grow in Cork due to the aircraft delays again for this summer, but with that said, they've increase the number of flights on loads of routes. Idk what they're doing.

TheBrownBird32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053737#Comment_123053737

AMS was roughly 9x weekly for S24. BIO and BOD are 6x weekly combined, ACE and TFS both 1 extra flight p/w. FAO is now daily for the entire season compared to 3/5x weekly. EI will have made up for the lost AMS capacity with those routes. There's still no sign of KLM increasing capacity on the route for the summer so it could be in the winter that happens

lisasimpson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053701#Comment_123053701

That incentive will take time and probably winter 25 summer 26 will be the impact if any to allow airlines planning routes etc.

There should still be an increase in passenger numbers for 2025 though allbit I suspect not as big an increase as 2024. There the new sun seats to Turkey this summer and the Glasgow route that resumed in October. As long as the number stay increasing is the main thing esp given the runway restriction. Also ryanair can be slow announcing new routes from the regionals previous years they were announced in jan although haven't heard of any rumblings for this year yet

TheBrownBird32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123054015#Comment_123054015

Only new Ryanair route for Ireland in the last 12 months is SNN-FNC

snotboogie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123053747#Comment_123053747

Its 11pw at the moment, surprised they increased frequency in the shoulder months.

TheBrownBird32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123054844#Comment_123054844

It’s only that high to keep the third A320 in Cork during winter. Next winter the third 320 will be gone and only 2 320neos will be based in Cork

TheBrownBird32

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123054948#Comment_123054948

Interested to see what will happen to MUC and SZG, will they be operated using a DUB A/C or cut… It looks like AGP is off sale from Oct 25 due to the third A/C leaving. Usually AGP would run for the first week of Nov.

TheBrownBird32

Nothing will probably come out of this but🤞🤞

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/2025/01/14/daa-pitches-cork-new-york-flights-to-aer-lingus/

snotboogie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123054948#Comment_123054948

Which doesn't bode well for breaking any records next year.

ACitizenErased

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123055100#Comment_123055100

Can't see AL doing this. They really do not care about Cork as shown by the cuts.

TheBrownBird32

Article has been updated including Aer Lingus’ response. To this day I cannot get my head around why the runway wasn’t extended in 2021 during the refurbishment. They’re just sabotaging themselves at this point

ACitizenErased

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123056298#Comment_123056298

You're 100% correct - absolutely braindead.

One thing I will say though re: Aer Lingus' response, Dublin's runway 16/34 is 60m/200ft less than Cork and can handle 321s and even Emirates 777s. That's one part that confuses me

Mushy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123056298#Comment_123056298

That was somewhat fasttracked as airport was closed. If they decided to go with lengthening the thing, then it would need to go through a whole planning and approval process which would take years amd no way would it be done in that time frame. Thought that much was well known by now, surely everyone knows you can't just decide to lengthen a runway almost on a whim

TheBetsy

Well there we have it lads straight from the horses mouth. Aer Lingus found there would be significant payload restrictions on services, and I think we all know they are not lying there. I think the Delta 757 services that nearly got going before covid were the best chance at proper services.

thomil

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123056330#Comment_123056330

There is a significant difference in altitude that could be having an effect. DUB is at 74 meters ASL whilst Cork is at 153 meters. This can have an effect, although I doubt it's going to be that large. As far as I'm concerned, the runway issue is a red herring, especially given that aircraft never take off fully loaded anyway. There's always either payload or fuel restrictions, as filling up both the tanks and the cabin to their maximum capacity would push most modern aircraft, including the A32X family, above their MTOW.

I think the issue here is more on Aer Lingus' side. Aer Lingus has a Cargo subsidiary operating at SNN and DUB, and that uses underfloor cargo space on Aer Lingus' regular passenger aircraft, which makes sense given that passenger luggage doesn't really take up that much space or weight. This would not be available from Cork, which has next to now cargo traffic anyway, and that's probably the bigger issue here. They can't supplement their passenger numbers with extra cargo. Besides, the airline doesn't really seem to care about anything outside of the M50 anyway, so a substantial increase in activities out of Cork wouldn't fit into their business plan anyway.

Will an A32X suffer payload restrictions when operating out of ORK? Yes. But I don't believe that it will be enough to make a route unviable. I also don't think that it's a lack of potential business that's holding Cork back. Norwegian was able to make it work in an all-economy combination to an airport in the middle of nowhere after all, they pulled out because their rapid growth had buried them in debt, I outlined that in an earlier post.

The big question for Cork is whether an airline can make enough money on the Cork route to warrant using an aircraft on that particular route and not on another one. That's where I see the big problem. A lot of airports in continental Europe lost their US connections because the likes of United, Delta, etc. were beginning to draw down their 757 fleets, I'm talking about the likes of Hamburg, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Oslo, or Vienna. As the A321LR and A321XLR enter service, these airports will be the main competition that Cork is up against rather than Shannon or Dublin, and at least for the next few years, they'll move heaven and earth to get their connections back.

Captain_Crash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123056330#Comment_123056330

The EK 777’s that go out have tanks that are barely half full, and the biggest engines in the sky powering it. It can’t be compared to a full A321 with LEAP’s.

Need to add, as has been mentioned in another thread discussing the same article. When 16 is in use in DUB the wind is blowing a hooly straight down the runway, which is very favourable for departing traffic. So the two can’t be compared really.