Cork
Airport
Cork Airport,
(Irish: Aerfort Chorcaí) (IATA: ORK, ICAO: EICK)
is one of the three principal international airports
in the Republic of Ireland (along with Dublin and Shannon).
It is located 8 km (5 miles) south of Cork City in an
area known as Farmers Cross. Over 40 Irish, British
and European destinations are served from Cork Airport.
In 2007, Cork Airport handled 3.2 million passengers,
making it the Republic of Ireland's third busiest airport
in terms of passenger numbers. Aer Lingus bases four
aircraft at the airport making it an important European
hub, with Aer Arann and Ryanair also having a large
presence.
With an elevation
of 135 m (502 ft) above sea level, Cork Airport is sometimes
prone to fog and a low cloud ceiling. The Instrument
Landing System has been upgraded to Category II, and
together with a 305 m (1000 ft) extension of the main
runway has significantly reduced the number of diversions.
However during times of severe inclement weather the
Airport can suffer from delays or diversions to airports
such as Shannon, Dublin or Kerry. Similarly, diversions
from these airports occasionally land at Cork.
The length
of the main runway dictates that the airport cannot
handle fully laden large widebody aircraft. However,
aircraft the size of the Boeing 747-400 are able to
use the airport and the largest aircraft that can operate
from Cork Airport with a full load for a long-haul flight
is the Boeing 767-200. Large wide-bodied aircraft do
visit Cork Airport on a regular basis and usually only
operate on ad-hoc charter services for flights to various
sporting occasions involving the Munster Rugby team.
The new terminal
at Cork Airport contains several shopping and eating
facilities both before and after the security screening
area, a bank with bureau de change service and an executive
lounge. Paid Internet access is available throughout
the terminal. There are also Wireless Internet Network
services available on a fee basis for passengers. Free
internet access is available in the Jack Lynch lounge
for Frequent flyers and Business class passengers
Cork City
Cork (Irish:
Corcaigh) is the second largest city in the Republic
of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous
city after Dublin and Belfast. It is the principal city
and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest
city in the province of Munster. The city has a population
of 119,143, while the addition of the suburban areas
contained in Cork County brings this total to 190,384.
Metropolitan Cork has a population of approximately
274,000, while the Greater Cork area is about 380,000.
The city's
name is derived from the Irish word corcach, meaning
"marshy place", referring to its situation
on the River Lee. Cork has a reputation for rebelliousness
dating back to the town's support of the English pretender
Perkin Warbeck in 1491 following the Wars of the Roses,
and as a result of this Cork County has the nickname
of "the Rebel County", and Corkonians often
refer to Cork as the "real capital of Ireland"
and themselves as "Rebels".
The River
Lee flows through the city, an island in the river forming
the main part of the city centre just before the Lee
flows into Lough Mahon and then to Cork Harbour, the
world's second largest natural harbour, after Sydney
Harbour, Australia. The city is a major Irish seaport
— with quays and docks sited along the broad waterway
of the Lee on the city's East side. Cork is one of the
three constituent cities in the Cork-Limerick-Galway
corridor with a population of 1 million people.
|
