O’Leary urges Knock airport funding rethink

Hitting one million passengers annually at Ireland West Airport (Knock) could punish rather than reward the airport.

That’s according to Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary, who called on the Government to raise the passenger number threshold linked to state support in order for the airport to grow and expand.

However, Minister for Rural and Community Development Dara Calleary countered that the recent adjustment to the Regional Airports Programme will greatly assist the airport and that the Government are ‘very committed’ to its future.

The Government’s revised Regional Airports Programme, announced earlier this year, extended eligibility beyond one million passengers, with support reducing gradually as traffic rises beyond that threshold.

O’Leary argued that the taper still creates a disincentive to push beyond the one million milestone.

Knock handled 946,381 passengers in 2025 and is forecasting between 970,000 and 980,000 this year, with close to 90 percent of those passengers flying with Ryanair.

“We’d like to continue to grow with Knock Airport. One of the challenges facing Knock Airport is the regional airport support scheme is capped or tapers off once you get to a million passengers.

“We have been advocating for a number of years that the one million should be lifted to two million without any tapering off which would enable Knock to continue to invest here, to receive support for infrastructure investments and we certainly working together with Joe (Gilmore, airport CEO) and his team would be more than happy to put more flights into Knock Airport and continue to grow.

“I think we should be looking to grow from a million to a million and a half passengers but there is a big cost penalty for Knock Airport once they go over a million passengers and the government needs to relook at that so that we can continue to invest and grow here,” said O’Leary.

Speaking yesterday (Monday) at the tenth anniversary celebrations of the Achill Experience and Aquarium Visitor Centre, Minister Calleary argued the adjustments to the Regional Airports Scheme should greatly assist the airport.

“The Regional Airport Programme is very important. Up until this year it actually kicked off at one million. It was cliffed and if the airport had grown its passenger numbers to a million and one, it would have lost everything. So what we have introduced this year is rather than that happening, it is stepped. The funding will be reduced on a stepped basis over a number of years so the airport can plan.

“We’re very committed to Ireland West Airport Knock. I think over the 40 year history, Fianna Fáil have been the main governments in terms of its funding, its ongoing funding and I will always fight for Ireland West Airport at cabinet. I did in terms of the context of the design of the new type of funding," Minister Calleary continued.

“I certainly will sit down and engage with Joe Gilmore (Ireland West Airport CEO), Arthur French (Chairman) and the team around it but I think we’ve made a big improvement this year. Unfortunately, we can’t write a blank cheque either on any of our programmes, especially at the moment but we will work and we have and I have always been in the airport’s corner and will continue to be.

“Ryanair have been a really valuable partner in those 40 years. Without Ryanair we would not be where the airport is today, nor without the extraordinary commitment of the staff over the 40 years. The success of the airport is a source of enormous pride to the county, I find every time I go in to collect someone from the airport or come in through the airport, you walk a few steps taller, that this was done in spite of all the opposition. Governments in Fianna Fáil have stood with the airport in dark days, we’ll stand with it in good days,” he said.