25 October 2024
By Bryan McCarthy
bryan@TheCork.ie
Cork Airport will welcome over 55,000 passengers this October Bank Holiday weekend, as tens of thousands touchdown on Leeside to celebrate the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival. The busiest day of the bank holiday weekend will be Friday, October 25 and overall passenger traffic is expected to be 4% higher than the same period last year.
With the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival in its 46th year, Cork Airport is proud to be an official Festival Partner to the biggest music event on Cork’s cultural calendar. Throughout the last 46 years, Cork Airport has been the international gateway to the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival, welcoming many famous artists and performers from across the world. Over the coming days, tens of thousands of festivalgoers will jet in from the UK, continental Europe and further afield in advance of the one of the biggest weekends for the city and surrounding towns.
This weekend, arriving passengers will get a taste of the jazz atmosphere across the city as soon as they touch down at Cork Airport, with performances from The Swing Bandits, the Lamarotte Jazz Band from The Netherlands and the popular local ensemble, Blarney Brass & Reed Band all taking place in the Arrivals area. The ever popular Jazz bus will also make courtesy calls to the airport throughout the weekend, providing spontaneous entertainment for passengers, meeters and greeters alike.
This weekend also marks the start of the winter schedule at Cork Airport and between now and late March 2025, over 1.35 million seats will be on sale to destinations across the UK, Belgium, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland, and The Netherlands. Cork Airport is Ireland’s fastest-growing airport and this winter, there will be 100,000 more seats will be on sale compared to the last year’s winter season. Ryanair will extend its Brussels Charleroi service to a year-round operation and Aer Lingus Regional commence a new, four-times weekly service to Glasgow.
Speaking ahead of the busy October Bank Holiday, Cork Airport’s Managing Director, Niall MacCarthy said: “We’re thrilled to partner with the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival once again this year. Live music in an airport terminal is special any time of the year, but really special with the jazz bands and the craic over the October Bank Holiday weekend. This weekend will see bigger numbers compared to last October Bank Holiday weekend and all of our staff across the campus are ready to serve with a smile so that each one of those 55,000+ passengers has a safe, friendly and enjoyable journey. Another reason to keep on flying Cork for all of your winter travel.”
Passengers travelling this weekend are advised to arrive at Cork Airport 90 minutes before their flight is due to depart. For those flying on Sunday, October 27, Cork Airport advises passengers to be mindful of clock changes as daylight saving time draws to a close and the clocks go back an hour.