Waterford Airport Flights Return in 2027: What It Means for Kilmacthomas

For anyone in Kilmacthomas who has spent the night before an early flight working out whether to leave for Dublin at 3am or Cork at 4am, there’s good news. Waterford Airport is on track to bring back scheduled passenger flights in summer 2027, the first in the south-east since 2016.

Here’s where the project stands, what’s being built, and what it could mean for the village.

Waterford Airport at a glance

• Runway: extended to 2,287 metres and widened to 45 metres, big enough for Boeing 737 and Airbus A320 jets.
• Cost: about €30 million, privately funded through Waterford Airport Ltd.
• Works started: 18 May 2026, when the sod was turned.
• Progress: about 70% complete at the end of October 2026, and reported to be ahead of schedule.
• Target: scheduled passenger flights by summer 2027.
• Ambition: up to 400,000 passengers a year within three to five years of reopening.

What’s being built at Waterford Airport

The heart of the project is the runway. The old runway was too short for the jets most airlines now fly, which is a big part of why commercial services stopped. Extending it to 2,287 metres and widening it to 45 metres opens the airport up to the Boeing 737s and Airbus A320s used on most routes to the UK and Europe.

It’s no small job. The works have been described as the largest ground stabilisation project in Ireland, with more than 7,500 tonnes of clay moved a day.

Beyond the runway, the airport has applied to Waterford City and County Council for planning permission for a two-storey terminal extension and eight new hangar units. The plans also include upgraded ground equipment and more car parking.

Which airlines could fly from Waterford?

No airline has signed up yet, but the conversations have started:

• Ryanair: airport CEO William Bolster has confirmed talks are under way. He says flights will “definitely” operate in 2027 if construction keeps going to plan.
• Emerald Airlines (Aer Lingus Regional): discussions have started. The airline has welcomed the project and says it’s open to new opportunities.
• easyJet and Jet2: easyJet has said it has no plans to fly from Waterford, and Jet2 said it isn’t currently in talks with the airport.

The airport ran a public call for route ideas, and London and Málaga topped the wish list, with Lanzarote also popular. The airport’s answer so far is that it’s listening, but no routes have been announced.

What it means for Kilmacthomas

Kilmacthomas sits on the N25 between Waterford and Dungarvan. Today the nearest airport with regular flights is Cork, around an hour and 20 minutes away, and Dublin is well over two hours. Waterford Airport, out at Killowen south of the city, is roughly 30 to 35 minutes from the village by car.

That could make a real difference:

• Easier holidays and trips away. A London or Spanish sun route from Waterford means no more motorway dash at dawn, and a much shorter drive home after a late landing.
• More visitors to the Greenway. The Waterford Greenway is one of the south-east’s biggest draws, and the Kilmacthomas viaduct is right in the middle of it. Direct flights make a weekend of cycling the Greenway a much easier sell to visitors from the UK.
• A boost for local business. Cafés, pubs and accommodation along the Greenway stand to gain from more short-break visitors. The construction phase alone was expected to support upwards of 100 jobs.
• Family visits made simpler. For families with relatives in England, a direct route from Waterford could turn a full day’s travel into a short hop.

What could still delay the 2027 date?

The summer 2027 target is a goal, not a guarantee. Three things have to fall into place:

1. The runway works have to finish on schedule. So far they’re reported to be ahead.
2. The Irish Aviation Authority has to recertify the airport once the works are complete, so it meets the safety standards for commercial flights.
3. An airline has to commit. Until a carrier announces routes and puts flights on sale, nothing is booked.

The airport’s owners have said they expect to announce a likely pairing with an Irish airline and an overseas one towards the end of 2026, so the next few months should give a much clearer picture.

A short history of Waterford Airport

At its busiest, Waterford Airport handled around 140,000 passengers a year, with routes to the UK and Europe. Scheduled passenger services stopped in 2016, and for the past decade the south-east has been the only region in Ireland without them, even though around 1.8 million airline tickets are bought by people in the region every year.

Plans to extend the runway went back and forth for years over funding. The breakthrough came when Waterford City and County Council approved a privately funded redevelopment in October 2025, and the new company, Waterford Airport Ltd, took over in 2026.

Getting to the airport from Kilmacthomas

Until flights restart, Waterford is still well connected by rail and road. See our guide to using Waterford as a base for train travel. When the airport reopens, expect the quickest route from the village to be the N25 towards Waterford City, then the R675 and R708 out to Killowen.

We’ll update this article as soon as airlines and routes are confirmed.

Sources: TRAVEL Extra, RTÉ News, Waterford Live.