The airport had received €1.7m of a subsidy in Government grant aid in 2023.

The airport had €10m in reserves, which was very important for its future, airport chairman Denis Cregan said. Fifty five staff were employed in the airport and staff and administration costs had risen in 2023.

Tenders have gone out for a new arrivals hall and other improvements, but the decision to proceed will not be taken until these return.

There was now only one Public Service Obligation (PSO) route in the country — that between Donegal and Dublin, the AGM was told. Ryanair operated the regional Dublin to Kerry route on a commercial basis now. This had formerly been a State-subsidised PSO route.

It suited Ryanair to operate the route “at the moment”, Mr Cregan said, adding he feared it might not suit the airline in the future. The Ryanair aircraft on the regional route was a very expensive aircraft for such a short flight, he said.

The previous PSO flight was considerably better in terms of frequency, he said. The Kerry-Dublin PSO route ceased in 2021 after carrier Stobbart went into liquidation and it was not renewed after Ryanair offered to operate the route on a commercial basis.

The airport was in good financial shape, Mr Cregan said, although it operated in a precarious industry.

Passenger numbers were up by 18% and there had been corresponding increases in car parking and gift shop sales.

Gift shop sales were up almost 30% at over €1m in 2023 and car park revenue had fetched over €666,000, up from €512,000.

Kerry Airport operates flights to: Dublin, London-Stansted, London-Luton, Manchester, Frankfurt-Hahn, Alicante and Faro with Ryanair. 

Three destinations in France — Brest in Brittany, Caen in Normandy and Pau near the Pyrénées — with Chalair begin on Saturday.