Qualla: Waterford Airport

Waterford Airport: Introduction

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nmwalsh, CC BY-SA 4.0. Without scheduled traffic since 2016, Waterford Airport has the look of a place waiting for something. The single-storey terminal is tidy; the four check-in desks are dark; the two boarding gates wait for a flight that may finally come back in 2027 when, if the latest funding deal holds, the runway will be 854 metres longer than it is now. Beyond that question of when commercial aviation returns to Ireland's south-east, EIWF carries other histories. It was the launching point for the first 24-hour Irish search and rescue helicopter operation on the south coast. It was also where that operation suffered its first and worst loss. The dunes that took Rescue 111 are visible from the runway threshold.

Read more: Waterford Airport on Qualla

Image: Nmwalsh | CC BY-SA 4.0

Waterford Airport: A Small South-East Airport

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nmwalsh, CC BY-SA 4.0. Waterford Airport sits at Killowen, four nautical miles south-east of Waterford City, with its single runway oriented roughly east-west. It opened in 1981 to give the south-east of Ireland its own commercial airfield. The R708 connecting road - upgraded in 2008 - now puts the air...

Read more: Waterford Airport on Qualla

Image: Nmwalsh | CC BY-SA 4.0

Waterford Airport: The Runway Question

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Andreas F. Borchert, CC BY-SA 4.0. Most of the story of Waterford Airport in the 21st century is the story of trying to lengthen its runway. At 1,433 metres, the strip is too short for most modern jets - it can take ATR turboprops comfortably and Boeing 737s only with significant restrictions. A series of plans ro...

Read more: Waterford Airport on Qualla

Image: Andreas F. Borchert | CC BY-SA 4.0

Waterford Airport: Rescue 111

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit David Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0. On 1 July 1999, EIWF hosted the first day of 24-hour helicopter search and rescue coverage from the south-east. A Eurocopter Dauphin from the Irish Air Corps, Rescue 111, had flown down from Casement Aerodrome in Dublin that morning with seven crew aboard. Just before one in the ...

Read more: Waterford Airport on Qualla

Image: David Dixon | CC BY-SA 2.0

Waterford Airport: On the Field Today

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit David Dixon, CC BY-SA 2.0. Walk into the terminal on a working day and you will find a coffee bar, the AFTA pilot trainees in white shirts comparing notes about touch-and-goes, and perhaps a single business jet on the apron. Aero Club Cessnas come and go from the western end of the runway. The Air Corps no...

Read more: Waterford Airport on Qualla

Image: David Dixon | CC BY-SA 2.0

Waterford Airport: What Comes Next

Sat, 23 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Irish Defence Forces, CC BY 2.0. The arguments about whether a regional airport in Ireland's south-east can survive in the long term are not new ones. In July 2025, Ryanair's chief executive Michael O'Leary said publicly that Waterford 'will never be a commercial proposition,' pointing out that Dublin and Cork a...

Read more: Waterford Airport on Qualla

Image: Irish Defence Forces | CC BY 2.0