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Donegal Airport

Coordinates: 55°02′39″N 008°20′28″W / 55.04417°N 8.34111°W / 55.04417; -8.34111 (Donegal Airport)
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Donegal Airport

Aerfort Dhún na nGall
Summary
Airport typePublic
OperatorAirports Donegal
ServesCounty Donegal
LocationCarrickfinn
Elevation AMSL30 ft / 9 m
Coordinates55°02′39″N 008°20′28″W / 55.04417°N 8.34111°W / 55.04417; -8.34111 (Donegal Airport)
Websitewww.donegalairport.ie
Map
CFN is located in Ireland
CFN
CFN
Location of airport in Ireland
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
03/21 1,496 4,908 Bitumen/Macadam
Statistics (2023)
Passengers41,867
Passenger change 22-23Increase13%
Aircraft Movements1,868
Movements change 16-17Increase0.4%
Source: Irish AIS[1] Passengers[2]

Donegal Airport (Irish: Aerfort Dhún na nGall) (IATA: CFN, ICAO: EIDL) is a regional airport in Ireland, serving County Donegal and the north-west. It is located on the coast, 2 NM (3.7 km; 2.3 mi)[1] south-west of Bunbeg in Carrickfinn, a townland in The Rosses, a district in north-west County Donegal. It is about a 15-minute drive from Dungloe and Gweedore and 45 minutes from Letterkenny. 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

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Early operations

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The airfield was officially opened in March 1978,[3] to serve the nearby IDA industrial estate with an expectation of service to Dublin Airport via City of Derry Airport. Until the mid-1980s, the runway was a 2,000 ft (610 m) grass strip. This was replaced by a hard surface runway with temporary terminal buildings. The airport started passenger operations on Christmas Eve 1985,[4] with flights to Glasgow International Airport and latterly Manchester Airport operated by Malinair until its bankruptcy in 1987. The developments to enable this were completed with funds and assistance from the Government of Ireland, private investors, Donegal County Council, the International Fund for Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund. The Malinair service to Glasgow was briefly replaced by Air Ecosse in June 1987[5] before being reinstated by Loganair in 1988.

In 1989 the runway was extended to 1,450 m (4,760 ft),[6] with a further extension to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), installation of runway safety areas and a new terminal building with modern navigational aids and equipment occurring in 1992-3

The 1990s

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Ryanair added service to London Luton Airport (via Sligo Airport) in June 1990,[7] however this service was suspended in January 1991 due to fuel costs and security concerns relating to the Gulf War and did not resume.[8] In 1994, the airport played a crucial role in the relief of Tory Island during lengthy storms that prevented the shipment of food or fuel to the island by sea, with Irish Air Corps helicopters using the airport for uplift of fuel, goods and passengers.[9] Macair, a Scottish airline leasing aircraft from Sun-Air of Scandinavia, briefly launched service to Edinburgh Airport and Birmingham Airport in 1995[10] but went bust shortly afterwards[11]

Gill Airways provided service to Glasgow Prestwick Airport in 1996,[12] and also 1999.[13] Also in 1996, the initial Public Service Obligation contract for services to Dublin Airport was awarded to Ireland Airways, who began operating this service.[14] 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.[15] Aer Arran replaced the failed Ireland Airways on the Dublin PSO in 1998.[16] The airport's runway lighting system was destroyed in a vandalism attack on 13 December 1999, p4,[17] with a repeat attack in March 2000.[18]

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, with Donegal County Council preferring to reserve that name for the Letterkenny plans[19]

The 2000s

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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.[20] 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.[21] In February 2010, Aer Arann closed its service to Glasgow Prestwick Airport and relocated to Glasgow Int’l Airport.[22]

Late 2000s and early 2010s, CityJet operated a Saturday seasonal charter flight to Rotterdam between April and September using a Fokker 50.[23]

2010s

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Service to Dublin was operated from 2012 to 2015 by Loganair 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 funding from the Irish Government 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.[24][25]

2020s

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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.[26] The contract was awarded for 7 months from July 2021 until February 2022.[26] 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 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. [27] [28]

Airlines and destinations

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

AirlinesDestinations
Aer Lingus Dublin[29]
Loganair Glasgow[30]

Statistics

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Annual passenger traffic at CFN airport. See Wikidata query.
Passenger numbers
Year Passenger numbers % Change YoY
2008 65,539
2009 50,761 Decrease22.5%
2010 46,825 Decrease7.8%
2011 38,309 Decrease18.1%
2012 29,226 Decrease23.7%
2013 33,768 Increase15.5%
2014 35,415 Increase4.9%
2015 36,552 Increase3.2%
2016 44,156 Increase20.8%
2017 46,514 Increase5.3%
2018 46,537 Increase0.05%
2019 48,542 Increase4.3%
2020 18,067 Decrease62.8%
2021 14,603 Decrease19.1%
2022 36,934 Increase152.9%
2023 41,867 Increase13%
Source: Central Statistics Office[2]

Airport data

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References

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  1. ^ a b EIDL – DONEGAL (PDF). AIP and charts from the Irish Aviation Authority.
  2. ^ a b "Aviation Statistics 2016". Central Statistics Office. 18 April 2017. Archived from the original on 19 April 2017. Retrieved 18 April 2017.
  3. ^ "Carrickfinn Airstrip Donegal". RTÉ.ie.
  4. ^ Irish Press, 25 December 1985, p3
  5. ^ Donegal Democrat, July 3rd 1987, p1
  6. ^ Donegal News, November 11th 1989, p1
  7. ^ Irish Examiner, June 30th 1990, p3
  8. ^ Donegal Democrat, January 18 1991, p1
  9. ^ Belfast Telegraph, March 9th 1994, p41
  10. ^ Donegal News, March 4th 1995, p26
  11. ^ "Airline crashes weeks after new flights take off". 26 July 1995.
  12. ^ Donegal News, July 5th 1996, p1
  13. ^ Donegal News, April 2nd 1999, p15
  14. ^ Donegal Democrat, August 22nd 1996, p3
  15. ^ Donegal News, December 5, 1997, p5
  16. ^ Donegal Democrat, March 5th 1998, p23
  17. ^ Irish Independent, 14 December 1999, p4
  18. ^ Donegal News, March 24 2000, p20
  19. ^ Donegal News, 2 December 1989, p24
  20. ^ "Editorial: Dempsey announces PSO contracts for regional air routes". www.breakingnews.ie. 13 May 2008. Retrieved 3 August 2009.[permanent dead link‍]
  21. ^ "Editorial: Aer Arann wings in new routes across Ireland". Irish Examiner. 25 June 2009. Archived from the original on 29 June 2009. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  22. ^ "AER ARANN ANNOUNCE NEW ROUTE TO GLASGOW". Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2010.
  23. ^ "Press Release: New 2008 Chartered Air Service from the Netherlands to Donegal Announced". Fáilte Ireland. 13 May 2008. Archived from the original on 6 November 2007. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  24. ^ "Donegal Airport named as the world's most beautiful landing spot". donegalnow.com. Donegal Now. 10 April 2018. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019. Donegal Airport has been named the world's most beautiful landing spot by global travel fans
  25. ^ "Donegal Airport voted most scenic in the world for second year running". irishtimes.com. Irish Times. 22 March 2019. Archived from the original on 23 October 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  26. ^ a b O'Halloran, Barry (15 July 2021). "Swedish airline will fly Dublin-Donegal route". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  27. ^ "Loganair announces summer 2024 schedule to Donegal".
  28. ^ "Loganair year round Donegal to Glasgow". 8 March 2024.
  29. ^ "Donegal Airport should be next on your Irish bucket list". 16 September 2023.
  30. ^ https://www.derryjournal.com/lifestyle/travel/loganair-donegal-to-glasgow-flight-to-take-off-this-summer-4050099 [bare URL]
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Media related to Donegal Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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