Cork airport is the third largest in Ireland handling over 2.5 million passengers per year and is an excellent gateway for the south east of Ireland. It is located 4 miles (6.5 kilometers) south of Cork City and operates two runways served by a single terminal.
With the recent announcement of additional routes for 2011 by Ryanair, Cork airport will serve 41 destinations throughout Europe including the Canary Islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote.
Nine car rental companies operate from Cork Airport with five having desks within the arrivals concourse including Avis, Budget, Hertz and National Alamo.
When leaving the airport in your rental car you can turn left onto the N27 which will take you north to the N28 Cork ring road. The ring road will in turn lead you the M8 motorway which in turn joins the M7 which will take you all the way to Dublin should you wish. South will lead you to the N70 which skirts the Atlantic coast and leads to Tralee and the famous Ring of Kerry.
With the terminal only opening in 2006, the facilities at the airport are excellent with free WI-FI available throughout the building and several eating and shopping outlets before and after security. A bureau de change service and an the Jack Lynch executive lounge are also available for users of the airport although a charge does apply for the latter.
Irish operators Aer Lingus and Ryanair have the most routes and aircraft running through Cork Airport with the majority of passengers (over 800,000) using them to fly to their three destination airports at London.
For alternative car hire pick up points use the bus services at the airport to pick up in Cork city with Bus Eireann or take the private operator Sky Link to get to Galway or Limerick.