Cork terminal opens for arrivals only

Tina Milton

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The new terminal at Cork airport opened yesterday but it can only handle arrivals passengers

The new €160m ($204.3m) terminal at Cork airport opened to arrivals passengers on August 1 but it will be another two weeks before it can welcome departure passengers. All departing flights will continue to operate from the existing terminal until August 15 when operations will be transferred to the new terminal.

The 28,000sq ft (301,280sq ft) split-level building is three times the size of the existing structure and will accommodate 3,500sq m (37,660sq ft) of retail and catering space.Aer Rianta Retail will operate the main 900sq m (9,984sq ft) duty-free and Travel Value store, while HMSHost has a 10-year contract to operate a range of food and beverage outlets, which includes a food court styled on Cork's famous English market, a bar and two cafés.

The terminal will have the capacity for 3m passengers a year and is the first major upgrade to the regional Irish terminal since it opened in the late 1950s. Cork airport is one of the fastest growing regional airports in Europe, as traffic has increased over 300% in the past six years, and is on course to exceed 3m passengers in 2006.

Irish bookseller Hughes & Hughes will operate two bookshops at the terminal, one in arrivals and one in departures, and convenience store chain Londis will open a 1,300sq ft (120sq m) shop located near the check-in area.

Construction of the terminal began in mid-2003 and was originally scheduled for completion by last summer. Dublin Airport Authority has blamed the delay on construction issues.