On 22 May 2011, at around 4:30pm a man entered a Garda Síochána vehicle in Cork City Centre and slashed the Garda in the vehicle with a knife.
The Garda jumped from his vehicle and the man hijacked it, hitting a number of vehicles while driving to Cork Airport.
At approximately 4:50pm the vehicle rammed through a perimeter airport fence, before breaking down.
The man abandoned the Garda vehicle and, again producing a knife, hijacked an Airport Fire Service vehicle.
By this time Air Traffic Control had suspended all operations.
The man drove erratically on the airport taxiway, driving underneath a stationary Thomas Cook aircraft at high speed.
The man proceeded to ram several Garda and airport vehicles, before attempting to ram an Aer Lingus aircraft.
The hijacked vehicle stalled, halting feet from the Airbus A320.
Armed Gardaí subdued the man with a taser.
Flights were resumed after the man was removed and the airport perimeter secured.

On 16 October 2011, Cork Airport celebrated its 50th anniversary.

In 2013, Cork Airport was placed first for overall customer satisfaction in a global survey of passengers carried out by Airports Council International.
The survey measured customer satisfaction across eight categories in 61 regional airports worldwide, with Cork Airport scoring highest.

In 2014, the Airport met its public sector obligation of a 33% reduction in energy costs, 6 years earlier than their 2020 target, and were awarded first place in the public sector category at the Sustainable Energy Awards 2014.

In 2016, Cork Airport won the Corporate Campaign of the Year Prize at the EU Public Affairs Awards (EuroPAwards) in Brussels, primarily for its efforts to secure a direct transatlantic route.
Also in 2016, Cork Airport became the first Irish airport to launch a no drone zone within 5 km of the airfield.
The campaign was launched following a number of incidents involving drones or aircraft on approach or departure from aerodromes throughout Europe.
Despite this campaign, at least two drones encroached airspace during April 2017.

In June 2017, the airport was named as 'Best Airport in Europe under 5 million passengers' at the 27th Airports Council International (ACI) Europe General Assembly.
On 22 May 2011, at around 4:30pm a man entered a Garda Síochána vehicle in Cork City Centre and slashed the Garda in the vehicle with a knife. The Garda jumped from his vehicle and the man hijacked it, hitting a number of vehicles while driving to Cork Airport. At approximately 4:50pm the vehicle rammed through a perimeter airport fence, before breaking down. The man abandoned the Garda vehicle and, again producing a knife, hijacked an Airport Fire Service vehicle. By this time Air Traffic Control had suspended all operations. The man drove erratically on the airport taxiway, driving underneath a stationary Thomas Cook aircraft at high speed. The man proceeded to ram several Garda and airport vehicles, before attempting to ram an Aer Lingus aircraft. The hijacked vehicle stalled, halting feet from the Airbus A320. Armed Gardaí subdued the man with a taser. Flights were resumed after the man was removed and the airport perimeter secured.
On 16 October 2011, Cork Airport celebrated its 50th anniversary.
In 2013, Cork Airport was placed first for overall customer satisfaction in a global survey of passengers carried out by Airports Council International. The survey measured customer satisfaction across eight categories in 61 regional airports worldwide, with Cork Airport scoring highest.
In 2014, the Airport met its public sector obligation of a 33% reduction in energy costs, 6 years earlier than their 2020 target, and were awarded first place in the public sector category at the Sustainable Energy Awards 2014.
In 2016, Cork Airport won the Corporate Campaign of the Year Prize at the EU Public Affairs Awards (EuroPAwards) in Brussels, primarily for its efforts to secure a direct transatlantic route. Also in 2016, Cork Airport became the first Irish airport to launch a no drone zone within 5 km of the airfield. The campaign was launched following a number of incidents involving drones or aircraft on approach or departure from aerodromes throughout Europe. Despite this campaign, at least two drones encroached airspace during April 2017.
In June 2017, the airport was named as 'Best Airport in Europe under 5 million passengers' at the 27th Airports Council International (ACI) Europe General Assembly.
Cork Airport