| Ireland West Airport Knock |
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Knock International Airport , now called '''Ireland West Airport Knock''' (from October 2005) and formerly called '''Horan International Airport''', is located at Knock near Charlestown , County Mayo , Ireland . Passenger traffic was 171,300 in 2000 , 198,700 in 2001 , 197,600 in 2002 , 247,000 in 2003 and 373,000 in 2004 . Connaught Aero Club is also based at the airport and is a Registered Training Facility. HISTORY AND LANDMARK EVENTS The Airport opened for flights on 20 May 1986 following a long campaign by Monsignor James Horan . The airport was intended to bring employment to an impoverished corner of Ireland, as well as allow pilgrims to visit the nearby Roman Catholic Knock Shrine which commemorates an event of 1879 . In June 2003 hundreds of people gathered at Knock International Airport to view a Boeing 747 land with 500 returning pilgrims from Lourdes . The aircraft stood as high as the Airport`s Air Traffic Control tower. It was the second of its type to land since the airport`s establishment. The airport was voted Ireland's best regional airport in June 2004 by the Chambers Of Commerce of Ireland. On 18 January 2005 Mrs Margaret Mary Hawksworth from Wilmslow, Cheshire became the 3 millionth passenger to have used the airport since it first opened in 1986 and arrived on a bmiBaby flight from Manchester. AIRLINES AND DESTINATIONS Scheduled Routes (As at March 2006)
MyTravelLite launched their Knock to Birmingham service in March 2003 and celebrated 100,000 passengers on the route in April 2004 but terminated the route in April 2005 . In March 2004 bmiBaby launched services to Manchester and East Midlands , the latter being terminated later. Aer Arann launched their Liverpool service in June 2004 and terminated in 2005 after losing the Dublin Public Service Obligation route. In January 2005 Ryanair and easyJet launched services from London Gatwick and bmiBaby launched a service to Birmingham. Public Service Obligation Routes
Charter Flights Many holiday companies use Knock for chartered holiday flights. Destinations include Faro, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Malaga and Palma (Majorca). AIRPORT DATA
GROUND TRANSPORTATION The airport is badly served by ground transport. The nearest railway station is Claremorris (31 km) or Ballyhaunis (22km). A shuttle bus service between the airport and Charlestown (5km) which links with the irregular intercity and regional services of the Bus Éireann network. Car hire is available from numerous companies at the airport. If the Western Rail Corridor is reopened Charlestown will have rail connections to Sligo , Galway , Ballina and Westport . {Link without Title} FUNDING RUMOURS Irish songwriter Christy Moore wrote a comic song about the building of the airport {Link without Title} declaring "I've never seen a miracle like the airport up in Knock". The song contained lyrics like:
Note: Knock's runway is in fact closer to eight thousand feet than eighteen. SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
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