Waterford Airport () (IATA: WAT, ICAO: EIWF) is located in Killowen, southeast of Waterford. It serves southeastern Ireland. The airport is operated by Waterford Regional Airport plc. Its single scheduled route, operated by VLM Airlines—which used Waterford as its only Irish airport and kept a base there—was discontinued from 13 June 2016 as VLM went out of business, leaving the airport without any scheduled traffic. On 11 June 2019, the Irish government approved a grant of €5 million together with €7 million from local investors and councils. Included in this, is the extension and widening of the existing runway to 2280 metres x 45 metres wide (bigger than the runway at Cork Airport) along with taxiway widening and terminal extension to cater for larger airlines such as Ryanair and Aer Lingus. It is hoped that this extension will boost tourism revenue for the county of Waterford in the long run. On 4 February 2022, planning permission was granted by An Bord Pleanála for the runway extension and associated works. Construction is set to be completed by the end of 2022. History Early years The airport's development was initiated by Waterford Corporation, with support from the Government of Ireland and the private sector, in 1979–1980. The investment was £1.76 million. Waterford Airport opened in 1981, with a runway for single and twin-engine light aircraft and a portable cabin as the terminal building. The current terminal building was opened in 1992, and the runway was lengthened to . Avair provided the first domestic passenger service in 1982, as a stop between Cork and Dublin Airport. In 1985, Ryanair launched the company's first international scheduled service from Waterford to London Gatwick. Development since the 2000s Waterford Airport celebrated 21 years of scheduled operations in 2006. On 13 March 2007, a €27.5 million upgrade of the airport was announced. Over the next two years the money would be spent on extending the runway to in length, building a new passenger terminal capable of handling one million passengers a year, and introducing scheduled flights to European cities such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Paris, Prague and Rome. There was also an expectation of charter flights to Mediterranean holiday resorts. The expansion would mean that air travellers in the southeast of Ireland would have a "credible alternative" to Dublin and Cork airports, according to officials at Waterford Airport. According to the chief executive of Waterford Airport, Graham Doyle,