Galway Airport

Galway Airport is located at Carnmore, 4NM east of Galway City, County Galway, Ireland and is managed by Corrib Airport Limited. It has not serviced any scheduled passenger traffic since 31 October 2011, when Aer Arann ceased commercial operations at the airport. At 1289 m (4230 ft), the runway is too short to handle most jet airliners and so scheduled services were restricted to turboprop aircraft or small executive jets. In November 2013 it was announced that the airport's aviation licence would cease, closing the airport. In January 2015 it was announced that the airport would reopen for private and commercial flights, but as of December 2015 the airport was "closed for commercial traffic until further notice".HistoryIn 1918 a landing ground was built for the Royal Flying Corps at nearby Oranmore. It was later used by Aer Arann, a local flying club and private operators. However it remained a grass strip and was virtually unusable in Winter. Ernest Steiner, a German businessman built his own strip opposite his factory at Carnmore. Aer Arann moved in also and commenced operations from there in 1974.The runway was extended to 1200 metres and completed on 2 March 1987. Although it could accommodate larger aircraft it remained unsuitable for jet airliners and was entirely served by regional turboprop aircraft such as the ATR-42. The first jet arrived at the airport on 30 March from Ohio USA. It was a 12-seater Gulf-Stream II and many more small business jets used the airport. A terminal and runway lighting project was completed by June of that year.