Air travellers in the southeast will soon have a "credible alternative" to Dublin and Cork airports, according to officials at Waterford airport.
Over the next two years €27.5 million will be spent extending the runway, building a passenger terminal and introducing scheduled flights to European cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Prague and Rome. There will also be charter flights to Mediterranean holiday resorts.
Graham Doyle, chief executive of Waterford airport, said "the extended runway, which we hope to have in place by summer 2009, will allow the airport to handle large jet aircraft, including the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737".
The airport now offers scheduled Aer Arann flights using a turbo-prop aircraft to London (Luton) and Manchester, and a summer service to Lorient in France.
Speaking to an audience in Waterford, Mr Doyle confirmed that Aer Arann would add a service to Birmingham from May 14th. An announcement was expected shortly regarding "ongoing negotiations" involving start-up airline FlyU offering services from Waterford to Malaga, Faro and Bordeaux later this year.
Mr Doyle said Waterford airport, which has a catchment area of 450,000, served over 80,000 passengers last year and numbers have been increasing by 15 per cent annually. The new terminal would be able to handle one million passengers a year. A new road was to be built from Waterford city to the airport to replace the existing back road which was notorious for dangerous bends.
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen said the Government had been impressed by the submission made by Waterford airport and was confident the project "will not be a white elephant". The Government would provide €22.3 million towards the cost of the upgrade, and the airport would borrow €5.2 million to make up the shortfall.
Mayor of Waterford Cllr Laurence "Cha" O'Neill criticised travel agents in the region for not promoting the airport. He said "the Minister has delivered for Waterford and the infrastructure is being put in place - there are no more excuses".