There may yet be quite a fly in the ointment for the rugby flights on 20th May. There is a rumor that the IAA will only allow Cork turnaround one wideboy at a time for the match in spite of there now being about five widebodies expected early on the Saturday morning!
Maybe, at a great push two big aircraft may be allowed to turn around together? Hard to see pax being brought in at 3 am or 4 am in the morning for the flights either as the ramp will be all ready fairly full at the hour with the overnighters and along with whatever contractual arrangements have been entered into between the travel operators and the likes of Monarch etc, etc.
The solution is plain - close runway 25/07 for a few hours in the airport's interest as well as in the national interest? An Air Atlanta Boeing 747 has previously parked overnight on Cork's short runway and pax were bussed to her next morning for a game in France some years ago. The cargo facilities of DHL and TNT are also being lined up for the processing of the outbound supporters to the aircraft.
It will be very interesting to see how the airport copes with all this traffic. I have heard a rumor that Serviceair will be very short of despatchers for the morning and big time coaxing will be needed to get extra folk in from elsewhere to work the flights. You know, it has to be made work really as the airport with a new management team and a new terminal will be extremely exposed to mass public ridicule if any stunts are tried to shaft Cork passengers so hopefully the IAA will go a little easy this time with Cork.
There is precedent in that the processing of so many pax at Cork Airport for the previous final in Cardiff in 2002 worked and the problems were mainly at the Cardiff Airport end. Let us hope it turns out well as it would be a dream start for the new Cork management in terms of publicity and goodwill. My advice to Cork Airport in the handling of this big match day operation is to again keep her friends close and her enemies even closer - Bigi Ullamh as they say in the Scouts!