REGIONAL AIRPORTThe flights, with Aer Arann, are to Amsterdam, Bordeaux, Malaga and Faro. A service to Lorient, in Brittany, will be launched on May 17th.
Nicholas Fewer, chairman of Waterford Airport, said he hoped to make further announcements on new and expanded services from Waterford during the year ahead.
He also announced a 51 per cent increase in the number of passengers travelling through the airport during the first quarter of 2008. Almost 26,000 passengers used the facility, compared with just over 17,000 in the same period of 2007.
Mr Fewer said the number is likely to increase "as passengers realise how much more convenient it is to fly from Waterford than travelling to either Cork or Dublin airports".
The regional airport for the southeast, which has a catchment population of 450,000 people, already provides scheduled flights to London Luton, Manchester, Birmingham and Galway.
The airport is undertaking a €28 million capital-investment project, to expand and upgrade its infrastructure. The works, which are expected to be completed in 2010, involve extending the runway and developing the terminal to handle a million passengers a year.
The new schedule involves the following flights:
• Monday: Bordeaux, in France, and Amsterdam, in The Netherlands.
• Tuesday: Malaga, in Spain.
• Wednesday: Faro, in Portugal.
• Thursday: Amsterdam.
• Friday: Bordeaux and Amsterdam.
• Saturday: Malaga
• Sunday: Faro and Amsterdam
• From May 17th, Lorient, in France, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
Full details of the timetable are at www.flywaterford.com. Online bookings can be made on www.aerarann.com.
