Danesfort Road Section cuts up to twenty minutes off journey to Waterford Airport for Kilkenny passengers

April 2010

Waterford Airport has welcomed the official opening of the new Danesfort section of the M9 which makes the regional airport more easily accessible than ever from Kilkenny.

The long awaited opening of the 33km stretch of road Waterford to Danesfort dual carriageway took place on Monday March 22. The carriageway commences at Danesfort ending at the Dunkitt roundabout just outside Waterford City, linking with the Waterford City Bypass. The new road will provide relief to traffic congestion in the towns of Knocktopher, Ballyhale and Mullinavat with the new infrastructure eliminating a very poor section of road long seen as a barrier to people in Kilkenny taking full advantage of the airport and its services.

Opened by Noel Dempsey TD, Minister for Transport, the new southern section of the M9 ties in with the Waterford City bypass crossing the River Suir at Grannagh and links to the Waterford outer ring road and the new airport road. During peak times, the new bypass which includes the second river crossing will trim up to twenty minutes off journey times to Waterford Airport as passengers from Kilkenny will no longer need to travel through some of the towns and villages on the road to Waterford and will avoid Waterford City traffic.

Graham Doyle, CEO, Waterford Airport said: “At the airport we're absolutely thrilled with the new road from Kilkenny to Waterford Airport. It is key to accessing routes to and from the airport and enables us to provide a great service to the people of Kilkenny and the Southeast.

Paul Schütz Aer Arann Chief Executive said “This is a welcome announcement for Aer Arann as it now means that Kilkenny customers have even easier access to our flights from Waterford Airport. We are committed to serving the entire South East region and this road, combined with our own fast and accessible service, will significantly cut down travel time for all Kilkenny customers travelling to and from London, Birmingham, Manchester and Galway with Aer Arann.

Over the past few years, more and more passengers from Kilkenny have been discovering the ease and convenience of using their regional airport. From a regional development perspective, it really is all about accessibility and connectivity and inbound tourists and businessmen through Waterford Airport will now see fantastic improvements in getting to the key population bases throughout our region.

I would especially like to congratulate the Department of Transport on opening the new section of the M9 today and the NRA, the local authorities and the contractor in delivering a key asset for the Southeast."