Cathal BarryKnock airport is boasting a record number of passengers in 2014, with more than 700,000 flying in and out.
The west of Ireland airport registered a total of 703,324 passengers last year, 38,000 more than in 2013 and an increase of more than 5%.
August 2014 was the airport’s busiest ever month with 102,774 passengers passing through the terminal, according to reports.
The record figures in August coincided with Knock shrine’s annual novena and the celebrations for the 135th anniversary of the apparitions there, which some 150,000 pilgrims attended.
Knock International Airport was officially opened on May 30, 1986 and the inaugural passenger flights, organised by Knock Shrine Society, brought pilgrims from Knock to Rome.
This remarkable airport was pioneered by Monsignor James Horan, who saw it as a development essential to the future of the west of Ireland.