Special time of year at a busy Cork Airport

Cork Airport are expecting 55,000 passengers to travel through their facility this festive season, with one special guest given “all-important clearance” to land on Leeside in the late hours of Christmas Eve.

With an array of pop-up vendors, live performances and food tastings, the spirit of Christmas has already arrived at the airport, with the help of the many people who have come together to make the festive season special for those coming and going throughout December.

Speaking to The Echo, Barry Holland, communications manager at Cork Airport, said that staff at the facility are all excited as they gear up for a very busy period, with tomorrow, Friday, earmarked to be the busiest day for pre-Christmas traffic.

“It’s truly magical – you’ll scarcely find a more exciting place in the lead up to Christmas than an international airport,” said Mr Holland. “Seeing all the arrivals coming back from the far flung corners of the world like Australia, parts of Asia, Europe – to see them landing in Cork, meeting family members and friends, some of which go the extra mile bringing balloons and flowers, it would warm the coldest of hearts.

“It’s a special time of year for us here – it’s the warmth of Christmas, I think there’s a special value put on travelling now, people remember when they couldn’t travel, and in the last couple of years it’s brought that extra special meaning, because we would’ve taken it for granted before Covid.

“At least now people know that coming home and reuniting for Christmas time is really something to behold.”

This week alone travellers can expect to see an ‘airside’ performance from Cork singer and songwriter, Allie Sherlock, a temporary stall with free beverage tastings from Murphy’s and a range of choir performances from local schools and groups.

There is also an ongoing12 days of Christmas giveaway, taking place across the facility’s social media channels and a ‘Corkmas’ installation from Cork Airport, Cork City Council and Cork’s Red FM, where a guest arriving at Cork Airport will be selected to spin a wheel, giving them the chance to win a special prize.

“We have an extensive Christmas choir programme, which is ongoing for the month – so every day, twice a day, we will have bands and singers here at the airport,” added Mr Holland.

“We mostly have school choirs coming up from various schools around the city and county, but we will have professional choirs too.”

Students from Gaelscoil na Dúglaise, Scoil Bhríde in Crosshaven and St Mary’s National School in Cobh are among those performing at the airport, as well as members from the Cork Light Orchestra, the Frankfield Gospel Choir, the Cork Samaritans Choir and more.

“Our colleague Kathleen Walshe coordinates the Christmas programme every year, so probably from mid-summer we have had schools in touch asking about availability to play at the airport — it means a lot to the schools in the local area,” said Mr Holland.

“There’s easily four to five months of planning gone into it, and then we’ve had teams decorating since mid-November with various decorations like lights and trees and cribs — there’s a lot of effort goes in, we like to put on a good spread at Christmas.”

In relation to additional flights this winter, and what can be expected for Cork Airport throughout the 2025 travel season, Mr Holland said that both Ryanair and Aer Lingus have put on additional services from cities across the UK and Europe, with large amounts of guests connecting through international hubs.

“It really becomes evident at Christmas time that people want that added convenience [and] the beauty of that is that people are landing in Cork,” he said.

“The indications of growth are there, we’ve had several positive announcements in the last few months for summer 2025, and I think that’s a testament to the demand that’s out there for services from Cork.

“All signs are pointing to a very positive 2025, we’re projecting growth that’s even higher than what it is this year— people want to fly from Cork and we’re very pleased with that.

“We’re going to exceed three million passengers this year, which is a record for us. It was the busiest year ever in our 63-year history for international passenger traffic.

“We’ve smashed last year’s records, we’re in double digit growth, we’re the fastest growing airport in Ireland, which is another testament — I think it’s nice for the people of Cork to see that their local airport is growing.”

Discussing the arrival of Santa Claus on the night of Christmas Eve, Mr Holland said that of all the flight plans that are filed throughout the year, the most important one is for the night of Christmas Eve.

“When we get notification of Santa’s flight plan, he will be given all-important clearance,” he said.

“I know that our air traffic control colleagues in AirNav Ireland, who are based in the control tower at Cork Airport, will be keeping a very close eye on Santa’s proposed flight plan, and what time he proposes to enter Irish airspace.

“I do know that all our arrivals expected on Christmas Eve will have landed by the time he arrives, and this is to ensure that he has a clear run in delivering presents to all the girls and boys across the country.”

Members from An Garda Síochána will be on-site to assist staff at Cork Airport on Christmas Eve, to ensure that Santa and his reindeer make it safely across the city and county without any trouble.

Crime prevention officer at Cork’s Anglesea St Garda Station, sergeant Michael O’Connell said that gardaí will be ready to help Santa during his visit, and will be in touch with his team at the North Pole very soon to put a plan in place for his arrival.

“Gardaí are always on duty — we have a good relationship with Santa Claus, and we touch base with Cork Airport every Christmas Eve to track his progress,” said Mr O’Connell.

“When Santa arrives, we’re always on standby to escort him around the city, to make sure he’s not delayed in getting to his next destination.

“We will liaise with the airport in the coming days and will have mobile patrols ready to help Santa out.”