- Donegal Airport
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Donegal Airport
Aerfort Dhún na nGall
IATA: CFN – ICAO: EIDL Location of airport in Ireland
CFNSummary Airport type Public Operator Airports Donegal Serves County Donegal Location Carrickfinn Elevation AMSL 30 ft / 9 m Coordinates 55°02′39″N 008°20′28″W / 55.04417°N 8.34111°WCoordinates: 55°02′39″N 008°20′28″W / 55.04417°N 8.34111°W Website Runways Direction Length Surface m ft 03/21 1,496 4,908 Bitumen/Macadam Source: Irish AIS[1] 
Donegal Airport
Donegal Airport (Irish: Aerfort Dhún na nGall) is located 2 NM (3.7 km; 2.3 mi)[1] south-west of An Bun Beag (Bunbeg), being located at Carrickfinn, a townland in The Rosses, a district in north-west County Donegal, Ireland. The small airport is located right on the county's north-west coast. It is about a 15 minute drive from Dungloe and Gweedore and 45 minutes (in 'good weather') from Letterkenny. It is popularly known within County Donegal as Carrickfinn Airport.
Until the mid 1980s, the runway was a grass strip. This was replaced by a hard surface runway with temporary buildings. The airport started operations in 1986 and was developed with funds and assistance from the Government of Ireland, private investors, Donegal County Council, the International Fund for Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund. In the 1990s the runway was extended to 1,500 m (4,900 ft) and a new terminal building with modern navigational aids and equipment was added.
Aer Arann remains the only scheduled airline currently using the airport. They receive public service obligation funding from the Irish Government to subsidise the route to Dublin, a contract that was renewed in 2008.[2] On 21 February 2007, the Irish Government announced that it would be giving €3.8 million to the airport in capital grant money.
VLM Airlines operate seasonal charter flights to Rotterdam between April and September every year.[3] Aer Arann announced in June, 2009 that it would be providing new connections to Cork from Donegal Airport via Dublin Airport.[4] This was since dropped in March 2010 when Aer Arann reduced their Cork-Dublin service to once-daily (except Saturdays).
In February 2010, it was announced that Aer Arann would be suspending services between Carrickfinn and Glasgow Prestwick, and re-launching the service from Carrickfinn to Glasgow International at Abbotsinch.[5]
Intermittently, non-scheduled helicopter flights to service a variety of (mobile) offshore hydrocarbon installations use the airport. This service is likely to expand in the future, requiring additions to the passenger-processing areas, technical and hangar services.
Loganair will begin Services to Dublin and Glasgow international on November 2 2011 with Saab 340s. The Dublin route will operate twice daily and will be subsidized by the Irish Government.
Contents
Airlines and destinations
Note: † denotes charter airlines and their destinations |The airport from a distance.
Airlines Destinations Flybe operated by Loganair Dublin, Glasgow-International Bristow Helicopters † Charter: Transocean CityJet † Chartered seasonal: Rotterdam Eastern Airways † Charter: Aberdeen Airport data
- Traffic permitted: Instrument flight rules/Visual flight rules
- Strength Pavement Classification Number (PCN): 21/F/B/X/T
- Tower Frequency: 129.80 MHz
- Navigational Aids: Non-directional beacon (NDB) 361 kHz "CFN", Distance measuring equipment (DME) 110.3 MHz "IFN", Localizer LLZ 110.3 MHz "IFN"
References
- ^ a b EIDL – DONEGAL (PDF). AIP and charts from the Irish Aviation Authority.
- ^ "Editorial: Dempsey announces PSO contracts for regional air routes". www.breakingnews.ie. 2008-05-13. http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2008/05/13/story361844.asp. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "Press Release: New 2008 Chartered Air Service from the Netherlands to Donegal Announced". Fáilte Ireland. 2008-05-13. http://www.discoverbundoran.com/Article_Details.aspx?article_id=57&tscategory_id=39. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ "Editorial: Aer Arann wings in new routes across Ireland". Irish Examiner. 2009-06-25. http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/business/aer-arann-wings-in-new-routes-across-ireland-416286.html. Retrieved 2009-08-03.
- ^ AER ARANN ANNOUNCE NEW ROUTE TO GLASGOW
External links
Airports in Ireland Northern Ireland 
Republic of Ireland Smaller font-size indicates airports handling domestic, charter or private services only. Categories:- Airports in the Republic of Ireland
- Transport in County Donegal
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