Donegal Airport and the north-west of the county stand to gain significantly from a major gas and oil drilling operation off the north coast.
For the fourth year in succession the airport is to provide the Irish base for Enterprise Energy Ireland, a member of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies and its co-venturers, AGIP Ireland BV and OMV Aktiengesellschaft, which started oil and gas drilling operations off the north Donegal coast this week.
The airport will be used to fly workers to and from the deepwater well, to be drilled 125 km north-west of Donegal in the Rockall Basin.
The continuation of this drilling, which is limited to the summer and autumn months by weather constraints, means that five extra flights will land at the airport each week. A helicopter based at the airport will then fly the workers out to the drilling sites, making approximately six trips each week and carrying up to 19 passengers per journey.
The operations manager at Donegal Airport, Mr BreandáÓ Baoill, last night welcomed the additional services, saying they would significantly boost business. Currently two return daily flights operate to Dublin in the morning and evening.