Waterford Airport has had a tough period with the loss of the Aer Arann service early in the year.
This meant the loss of the London and Manchester services, now this is no longer the case, with the FtyBe relaunching the Manchester route in May.
Last week new money for a runway extension was announced, which is another boost.
Early in the year, Fly Be had been operating the Birmingham route a few times a week, but the frequency level has since been increased .
The lack of a London connection is still a vital missing piece. Waterford did host an aircraft with Aer Arann and could easily service the London route with an early morning flight.
However the move to Southend seemed to see demand drop compared to traffic on the Luton route
Yet we found the Southend connection faster into central London, as the train goes straight to the airport from Liverpool Street in London’s east end.
The London link has been operating since 1985 and was a considerable help to business and visitor alike.
With the recession many Waterford people have had to go to London to seek work or look for business contracts, the home link was very useful, but lack of support for the Southend route was blamed.
It is vital that this is restored for business and tourism in the south east but more lobbying is needed..
