THERE was a three per cent rise in passenger numbers handled by Kerry Airport in the 12-month period to December 2017, it has been confirmed.
335,480 filed through the departure and arrivals gates in Farranfore last year compared to 325,670 the previous year.
There was a six per cent rise in passengers utilising the Dublin with passenger load factors up from 73% to 78%. The Kerry-Dublin flight now has interlining facilities with the Aer Lingus network out of Dublin to 12 cities in North America as well as Toronto in Canada.
The London flights were running at an 86% average for the year and a new Kerry-Berlin service with Ryanair was secured in 2017 and commenced at a twice weekly frequency in November 2017.
Turnover increased from €6 million to €6.34 million, reflecting increased passenger related revenues of six per cent for the year.
Profitability was enhanced by achieving better margins on a number of key revenue streams as well as a greater allocation of government grants (€1,075,474) available for 2017.
€1.251 million spent on capital projects during the year on areas of aircraft parking, runway upgrades and navigation aids with the support of funding from the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.
Airport Chairman, Denis Cregan, said the results for the year 2017 were satisfactory in terms of financial growth and passenger traffic with gross revenues up six per cent and passenger numbers growing by another three per cent year-on-year.
“Increased daily capacity on the Kerry-Dublin service by the airline with the larger ATR-72 aircraft is a positive development for the region going forward under the new PSO contract 2018-2022,” he said
“This twice daily flight is of critical importance to the region and we hope this product will get the support it deserves,” Mr Cregan added.
The Kerry Airport plc annual general meeting (AGM) will be held at the Earl of Desmond Hotel, Tralee, on Thursday, June 14.
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