Donegal Airport
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Donegal Airport () is a regional airport in Ireland, serving
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
and the north-west. It is located on the coast, south-west of Bunbeg in Carrickfinn, a
townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...
in
The Rosses The Rosses (officially known by its Irish language name, ''Na Rosa''; in the genitive case ''Na Rosann'') is a traditional 'district' in the west of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. The Rosses has ...
, a district in north-west County Donegal. It is about a 15-minute drive from Dungloe and Gweedore and 45 minutes from
Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...
. It was generally known until the 1990s, and is still popularly known within County Donegal, as Carrickfinn Airport, from which its airport code (CFN) is derived.


History


Early operations

The airfield was officially opened in March 1978, to serve the nearby IDA industrial estate with an expectation of service to Dublin Airport via
City of Derry Airport City of Derry Airport , previously known as RAF Eglinton and Londonderry Eglinton Airport, is a regional airport located northeast of Derry, Northern Ireland. It is located on the south bank of Lough Foyle, a short distance from the village ...
. Until the mid-1980s, the runway was a grass strip. This was replaced by a hard surface runway with temporary terminal buildings. The airport started passenger operations on Christmas Eve 1985, with flights to Glasgow International Airport and latterly
Manchester Airport Manchester Airport is an international airport in Ringway, Manchester, England, south-west of Manchester city centre. In 2024, it was the third busiest airport in the United Kingdom in terms of passengers (the busiest outside of London) ...
operated by Malinair until its bankruptcy in 1987. The developments to enable this were completed with funds and assistance from the
Government of Ireland The Government of Ireland () is the executive (government), executive authority of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet (government), cabinet – is composed of Mini ...
, private investors, Donegal County Council, the International Fund for Ireland and the
European Regional Development Fund The European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) is one of the European Structural and Investment Funds allocated by the European Union. Its purpose is to transfer money from richer regions (not countries), and invest it in the infrastructure and se ...
. The Malinair service to Glasgow was briefly replaced by Air Ecosse in June 1987 before being reinstated by
Loganair Loganair is a Scottish regional airline headquartered at Glasgow Airport in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The airline primarily operates domestic flights within the United Kingdom. It is the largest regional airline in Scotland by passenger ...
in 1988. In 1989 the runway was extended to , with a further extension to , installation of runway safety areas and a new terminal building with modern
navigational aid A navigational aid (NAVAID), also known as aid to navigation (ATON), is any sort of signal, markers or guidance equipment which aids the traveler in navigation, usually nautical or aviation travel. Common types of such aids include lighthouses, ...
s and equipment occurring in 1992–93.


The 1990s

Ryanair Ryanair is an Irish Low-cost carrier#Ultra low-cost carrier, ultra low-cost airline group headquartered in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland. The parent company, Ryanair Holdings plc, includes subsidiaries Ryanair , Malta Air, Buzz (Ryanair), Buzz ...
added service to
London Luton Airport London Luton Airport is an international airport located in Luton, England, situated east of the town centre, and is the Airports of London, fourth-busiest airport serving London. The airport is owned by London Luton Airport Limited, a comp ...
(via
Sligo Airport Sligo Airport is located in Strandhill, County Sligo, west of Sligo, at the end of the R277 road (Ireland), R277 road, in Ireland. The airport is a small regional airport and has had no scheduled routes since 2011. It is the home of the Slig ...
) in June 1990, however this service was suspended in January 1991 due to fuel costs and security concerns relating to the
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
and did not resume. In 1994, the airport played a crucial role in the relief of
Tory Island Tory Island, or simply Tory, is an island 14.5 kilometres (7+3⁄4 nautical miles) off the north-west coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. It is officially known by its Iris ...
during lengthy storms that prevented the shipment of food or fuel to the island by sea, with
Irish Air Corps The Air Corps () is the air force of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Organisationally a military branch of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Defence Forces of Ireland, the Air Corps utilises a fleet of fixed-wing aircraft and rotorcraft to carry out ...
helicopters using the airport for uplift of fuel, goods and passengers. Macair, a Scottish airline leasing aircraft from Sun-Air of Scandinavia, briefly launched service to
Edinburgh Airport Edinburgh Airport is an international airport located in the Ingliston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located west of the city centre, just off the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 and M9 motorway (Scotland), M9 motorways. It is owned and oper ...
and
Birmingham Airport Birmingham Airport , formerly ''Birmingham International Airport'', is an international airport located east-southeast of Birmingham city centre, west-northwest of Coventry slightly north of Bickenhill village, in the Metropolitan Bor ...
in 1995 but went bust shortly afterwards Gill Airways provided service to Glasgow Prestwick Airport in 1996, and also 1999. Also in 1996, the initial
Public Service Obligation In the context of European Union law, a public service obligation or PSO is an obligation imposed on an organisation by legislation or contract to provide a service of general interest within EU territories. PSOs may operate in any field of publi ...
contract for services to Dublin Airport was awarded to Ireland Airways, who began operating this service. There has been a continuous service to Dublin since. Glasgow services by Loganair ceased in 1997 when it was under the ownership of British Regional Airlines, but were replaced by Bright Air. Aer Arran replaced the failed Ireland Airways on the Dublin PSO in 1998. The airport's runway lighting system was destroyed in a vandalism attack on 13 December 1999, p4, with a repeat attack in March 2000. Up to the 1990s, the airport was generally referred to as Carrickfinn Airport/Airfield/Airstrip and very rarely as Donegal Airport, as there were plans to open a "Donegal Airport" in the vicinity of
Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...
, with Donegal County Council preferring to reserve that name for the Letterkenny plans.


The 2000s

On 21 February 2007, the Irish Government announced that it would be giving €3.8 million to the airport in capital grant money. Domestic service to Dublin was resumed by Aer Arann. Aer Arann operated flights to Cork via Dublin in 2009 until they reduced their Cork-Dublin service to six times per week. The route closed in March 2010. In February 2010, Aer Arann closed its service to Glasgow Prestwick Airport and relocated to Glasgow Int’l Airport. Late 2000s and early 2010s,
CityJet CityJet is an Irish regional airline with headquarters at Dublin Airport. It was founded in 1992 and has gone through a series of corporate structures. In 2023, it merged with Air Nostrum, forming Strategic Alliance of Regional Airlines (SAR ...
operated a Saturday seasonal charter flight to
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...
between April and September using a Fokker 50.


2010s

Service to Dublin was operated from 2012 to 2015 by
Loganair Loganair is a Scottish regional airline headquartered at Glasgow Airport in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The airline primarily operates domestic flights within the United Kingdom. It is the largest regional airline in Scotland by passenger ...
and Flybe using a Saab 340 which rotated via Glasgow to provide aircraft and crew replenishment. Stobart Air, operating as Aer Lingus Regional, received
public service obligation In the context of European Union law, a public service obligation or PSO is an obligation imposed on an organisation by legislation or contract to provide a service of general interest within EU territories. PSOs may operate in any field of publi ...
funding from the
Irish Government The Government of Ireland () is the executive authority of Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet – is composed of ministers, each of whom must be a member of the , which consists of ...
to subsidise the route to Dublin. A contract was awarded in 2014, and the service commenced on 1 March 2015, using an ATR 42-300 (reg nos. EI-CBK or EI-EHH). The service was operated using an ATR 42-600 (reg nos. EI-GEV) from 2018 until the demise of Stobart Air, in June 2021. The airport was voted the world's most scenic landing spot in 2018, 2019, and 2020.


2020s

In July 2021, Amapola Flyg a Swedish regional airline, was awarded the PSO route from Dublin to Donegal, as a temporary measure following the demise of Stobart Air. The contract was awarded for seven months from July 2021 until February 2022. In March 2022, Emerald Airlines (on behalf of Aer Lingus Regional) began flights to Dublin operated by an ATR72-600 twice daily. In July 2023,
Loganair Loganair is a Scottish regional airline headquartered at Glasgow Airport in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. The airline primarily operates domestic flights within the United Kingdom. It is the largest regional airline in Scotland by passenger ...
relaunched their route to Glasgow International Airport with an ATR42, three times weekly up until 24 September 2023. Due to strong passenger demand on the route, an increased 2024 schedule will operate up to four times weekly from April–October. The route will continue to operate throughout the winter schedule for 2024/2025, twice a week, on Friday and Sunday.


Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from Donegal:


Statistics


Airport data

* Traffic permitted:
instrument flight rules In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument Fl ...
/
visual flight rules In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) is a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better tha ...
* Strength Pavement Classification Number (PCN): 21/F/B/X/T * Tower frequency: 129.80
MHz The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), often described as being equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose formal expression in terms of SI base u ...
* Navigational aids:
non-directional beacon A non-directional beacon (NDB) or non-directional radio beacon is a radio beacon which does not include directional information. Radio beacons are radio transmitters at a known location, used as an aviation or marine navigational aid. NDB are i ...
(NDB) 361 kHz "CFN",
distance measuring equipment In aviation, distance measuring equipment (DME) is a radio navigation technology that measures the slant range (distance) between an aircraft and a ground station by timing the propagation delay of radio signals in the frequency band between 9 ...
(DME) 110.3 MHz "IFN", localizer LLZ 110.3 MHz "IFN"


References


External links


Official website
* * {{authority control Airports in the Republic of Ireland Transport in County Donegal