Waterford County Council has been told the airport’s runway extension and redevelopment project has risen to at least €27m.
The business case supporting full re-opening to commercial flights described as ‘fragile’ by Waterford County Council’s CEO Michael Walsh.
The airport is currently making a loss of €300,000 per year, and has had no commercial flights since 2016
A business analysis by consultants Grant Thornton predicted that the airport would have to exceed 300,000 passengers per year to operate at a profit, twice exceeding that when the airport was at its most profitable.
The airport requires a 600m runway extension to accommodate B737 or A320 family aircraft, the smallest size used by Ryanair and the Aer Lingus core airline (as opposed to Emerald Airways).
The runway would need to be 2km long and 45m wide, as opposed to the current runway which is 1,400m long and 30m wide.
A consortium of investors featuring the Comer brothers and the Bolster Group announced a €30m investment in the airport last year, but insisted that government support is needed to make the project a success.
Mr Power said: “At one level, I’d prefer if we weren’t involved with the airport, because it brings with it responsibilities, and otherwise, that we have very little control over, and very little knowledge of.”
