A campaign to upgrade Carnmore airstrip wants to safeguard jobs and attract new employers to Galway.

Since 1975 Galway has been serviced by a small airfield at Carnmore, ten miles outside the city. Carnmore is the operational airstrip for Aer Arann, providing daily flights to the Aran Islands and charter flights to the UK and Europe.

Carnmore, does not have an airstrip that can cater for large planes. Companies in Galway with research and development divisions and marketing centres are unable to move staff or critical parts quickly.

In 1982 the Galway Chamber of Commerce and Industry commissioned a University College Galway (UCG) market survey to see if the amount of air traffic through Carnmore would merit an extension of the airstrip.

The results show that Carmore has the fourth biggest air traffic flow in the country but is not equipped to handle it. The research also shows that an air route from Galway to Dublin would have enough traffic to be profitable.

Galway Chamber of Commerce and Industry is therefore under a lot of pressure from big employers to develop the Carmore airstrip. They have launched a campaign to build a £1.2 million extension to Carnmore Airport. The present runway 1,700 feet long would be extended to 4,000 feet. This expansion would safeguard jobs in multi-national companies in the city and make Galway a more attractive proposition for foreign firms looking for an Irish base.

Development authorities in Galway city are backing the campaign. To create more public awareness about the importance of an airport for the city, Galway Chamber of Commerce and Industry launch a car sticker promotion.

President of the Galway Chamber of Commerce and Industry John Coyle does not think the cost of extending the airstrip is prohibitive as Galway is competing in with other parts of Ireland for jobs and currently,

To get people in and out it takes up to five hours to get to an airport.

The Mayor of Galway, Councillor Michael Leahy agrees that journey times are of the essence. The UCG survey results prove that Galway can justify sufficient business for a dedicated airport,

Not a major airport but an airport bigger than Galway has just now.

Manager of the Industrial Development Authority of Ireland Western Region Tom Hyland, is also backing the idea. In his opinion, the very minimum industrialists in the area will accept the extension of the existing airstrip. This would allow Galway to cater for 35 seater turbo prop planes and executive jets.

An RTÉ News report broadcast on 12 October 1983. The reporter is Jim Fahy.