Donegal Airport

Donegal Airport Aerfort Dhún na nGall
IATA:CFN ICAO:EIDL
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Airports Donegal
Serves	County Donegal
Location	Carrickfinn
ElevationAMSL	30 ft / 9 m
Coordinates	55°02′39″N008°20′28″W
Website	donegalairport.ie
Map
CFN Location of airport in Ireland
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 03/21 1,496 4,908 Bitumen/Macadam
Statistics (2017)
Passengers 46,514 Passenger change 16-17 5.3% Aircraft Movements 1,868 Movements change 16-17 0.4%
Source: IrishAIS Passengers

Donegal Airport(Irish:Aerfort Dhún na nGall) (IATA:CFN,ICAO:EIDL) is a regional airport in Ireland, servingCounty Donegaland the north-west. It is located on the coast, 2NM(3.7 km; 2.3 mi)south-west ofBunbegin Carrickfinn, atownlandinThe Rosses,a district in north-west County Donegal. It is about a 15-minute drive fromDungloeandGweedoreand 45 minutes fromLetterkenny.It was generally known until the 1990s, and is still popularly known within County Donegal, as Carrickfinn Airport, from which its airport code (CFN) is derived.

History

Early operations

The airfield was officially opened in March 1978,to serve the nearby IDA industrial estate with an expectation of service to Dublin Airport via Derry City Airport. Until the mid-1980s, the runway was a 2,000 ft (610 m) grass strip. This was replaced by a hard surface runway with temporary terminal buildings. The airport started passenger operations on Christmas Eve 1985,with flights toGlasgow International Airportand latterlyManchester Airportoperated byMalinairuntil its bankruptcy in 1987. The developments to enable this were completed with funds and assistance from theGovernment of Ireland,private investors, Donegal County Council, theInternational Fund for Irelandand theEuropean Regional Development Fund.The Malinair service to Glasgow was briefly replaced byAir Ecossein June 1987before being reinstated byLoganairin 1988.

In 1989 the runway was extended to 1,450 m (4,760 ft),with a further extension to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), installation of runway safety areas and a newterminalbuilding with modernnavigational aidsand equipment occurring in 1992-3

The 1990s

Ryanairadded service toLondon Luton Airport(viaSligo Airport) in June 1990,however this service was suspended in January 1991 due to fuel costs and security concerns relating to theGulf Warand did not resume.In 1994, the airport played a crucial role in the relief ofTory Islandduring lengthy storms that prevented the shipment of food or fuel to the island by sea, withIrish Air Corpshelicopters using the airport for uplift of fuel, goods and passengers.Macair, a Scottish airline leasing aircraft fromSun-Air of Scandinavia,briefly launched service toEdinburgh AirportandBirmingham Airportin 1995but went bust shortly afterwards

Gill Airwaysprovided service toGlasgow Prestwick Airportin 1996,and also 1999.Also in 1996, the initialPublic Service Obligationcontract for services toDublin Airportwas awarded toIreland Airways,who began operating this service.There has been a continuous service to Dublin since.

Glasgow services by Loganair ceased in 1997 when it was under the ownership ofBritish Regional Airlines,but were replaced byBright Air.Aer Arranreplaced the failed Ireland Airways on the Dublin PSO in 1998.The airport's runway lighting system was destroyed in a vandalism attack on 13 December 1999, p4,with a repeat attack in March 2000.

Up to the 1990s, the airport was generally referred to as Carrickfinn Airport/Airfield/Airstrip and very rarely as Donegal Airport, as there were plans to open a "Donegal Airport" in the vicinity ofLetterkenny,with Donegal County Council preferring to reserve that name for the Letterkenny plans

The 2000s

On 21 February 2007, the Irish Government announced that it would be giving €3.8 million to the airport in capital grant money. Domestic service to Dublin was resumed byAer Arann.Aer Arann operated flights toCorkvia Dublin in 2009 until they reduced their Cork-Dublin service to six times per week. The route closed in March 2010.In February 2010, Aer Arann closed its service toGlasgow Prestwick Airportand relocated toGlasgow Int’l Airport.

Late 2000s and early 2010s,CityJetoperated a Saturday seasonal charter flight toRotterdambetween April and September using a Fokker 50.

2010s

Service to Dublin was operated from 2012 to 2015 byLoganairandFlybeusing a Saab 340 which rotated via Glasgow to provide aircraft and crew replenishment.Stobart Air,operating asAer Lingus Regional,receivedpublic service obligationfunding from theIrish Governmentto subsidise the route toDublin.A contract was awarded in 2014, and the service commenced on 1 March 2015, using an ATR 42-300 (reg nos. EI-CBK or EI-EHH). The service was operated using an ATR 42-600 (reg nos. EI-GEV) from 2018 until the demise of Stobart Air, in June 2021.

The airport was voted the world's most scenic landing spot in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

2020s

In July 2021,Amapola Flyga Swedish regional airline, was awarded the PSO route from Dublin to Donegal, as a temporary measure following the demise of Stobart Air.The contract was awarded for 7 months from July 2021 until February 2022.In March 2022,Emerald Airlines(on behalf ofAer Lingus Regional) began flights to Dublin operated by an ATR72-600 twice daily.

In July 2023,Loganairrelaunched their route toGlasgow International Airportwith an ATR42, three times weekly up until 24 September 2023. Due to strong passenger demand on the route, an increased 2024 schedule will operate up to four times weekly from April-October. The route will continue to operate throughout the winter schedule for 2024/2025, twice a week, on Friday and Sunday.

Airlines and destinations

The following airlines operate regular scheduled flights to and from Donegal:

Airlines	Destinations
Aer Lingus	Dublin
Loganair	Glasgow

Statistics

Annual passenger traffic at CFN airport. SeeWikidata query.

Passenger numbers

Year	Passenger numbers	% Change YoY
2008	65,539
2009	50,761	22.5%
2010	46,825	7.8%
2011	38,309	18.1%
2012	29,226	23.7%
2013	33,768	15.5%
2014	35,415	4.9%
2015	36,552	3.2%
2016	44,156	20.8%
2017	46,514	5.3%
2018	46,537	0.05%
2019	48,542	4.3%
2020	18,067	62.8%
2021	14,603	19.1%
2022	36,934	152.9%
Source:Central Statistics Office

Airport data

• Traffic permitted:Instrument flight rules/Visual flight rules
• StrengthPavement Classification Number(PCN): 21/F/B/X/T
• Tower Frequency: 129.80MHz
• Navigational Aids:Non-directional beacon(NDB) 361 kHz "CFN",Distance measuring equipment(DME) 110.3 MHz "IFN",LocalizerLLZ 110.3 MHz "IFN"

External links

Media related toDonegal Airportat Wikimedia Commons

• Official website
• Current weather for EIDLatNOAA/NWS
• Accident history for CFNatAviation Safety Network