Pictured at last Thursday’s launch of the Waterford Airport Economic Impact Assessment were Airport CEO Graham Doyle and General Manager Aidan Power. | Photo: John Power
Waterford Airport is financially secure and in a strong position to ride out what management at the Killowen facility referred to last week as the ‘current economic storm’.
That was the assertive message delivered by Chief Executive Graham Doyle and General Manager Aidan Power on Thursday last at the publication of a report which assesses the Airport’s economic impact.
The report, prepared by London-based Colin Buchanan and Partners, reveals that the airport supports up to 560 jobs, with 85 per cent of surveyed regional businesses viewing direct air access as ‘important to their operations’.
A total of 52 people are directly employed by the Airport, with 12 more employed through on-site services such as Customs and security.
Some 113 people are employed by companies based at the airport, including Aer Arann crew, the Coast Guard Search and Rescue service along with the Pilot Training College of Ireland.
“There is an element of dependency still on Government funding, but ours, of all the regional airports, has the lowest level of dependency, I’m happy to say,” said Graham Doyle.
When pressed for an answer on whether the airport was financially secure or not, Mr Doyle categorically stated: “Yes, we are secure.”
See The Munster Express newspaper for full story.
