Galway Airport
Galway Airport is located at Carnmore, 4 NM (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) north of Galway City, County Galway, Ireland and is managed by Corrib Airport Limited. It has not serviced any flights since 31 October 2011, when Aer Arann ceased commercial operations at the airport. At 1289Â m (4230Â ft), the runway is too short to handle most jet airliners and so scheduled services are restricted to turboprop aircraft or small executive jets.HistoryDuring World War I a landing ground was built for the RAF 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 continues to be entirely served by regional turboprop aircraft such as the ATR-42. The first jet arrived at the airport on March 30 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 was completed by June of that year. In January 1988 Aer Lingus re-introduced the Dublin route, in March Ryanair launched a new route to London Luton and later re-routed it to Stansted. The two airlines went into a business war, Ryanair offering cheap flights direct to London and Aer Lingus to Heathrow, Amsterdam and Paris on selected days via Dublin. In 1991 due to business restructuring Ryanair withdrew their London service and Aer Lingus were soon to follow.
