Tag Archives: Dublin Airport

DUBLIN Airport’s dominance of Irish aviation has seen other airports, including Shannon, decline or stagnate for years, but now that Dublin can’t cope, Sinn Féín wants the employees from competitors to save it. On Morning Ireland this Wednesday, its Transport spokesman Darren O’Rourke said employees from other airports should be deployed to Dublin. “In the first instance what I would say to the DAA and to Ministers (Eamon) Ryan and (Hildegarde) Naughton, is that they need to look within the resources of Dublin Airport, they need to look within the resources of the DAA group which includes Cork Airport, they also need to look within the resources of airports around the country,” Deputy O’Rourke told the presenter. “What we need is people who have sufficient experience and expertise to work these systems and every available person who has that skill set should be considered at this point in time. It really is a case of an emergency and an emergency …

FOUR percent of all passengers to Irish airports in 2021 went through Shannon, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show. Obviously Covid-19 was very disruptive to aviation last year, making for a very strange year. Shannon’s 4% was ahead of Cork which had 3%, but Cork was closed for a couple of months due to works on its runway. Dublin was hugely dominant in terms of Irish aviation, with 90% of all passengers. Shannon had 322,162 passengers during the year, only one fifth of the 2019 figure, just before the pandemic. The figure was almost 50,000 ahead of 2020. Shannon dealt with 4,836 different flights over the course of the year. The three most used links with Shannon were all London airports. The busiest route was Stansted with 63,624 passengers, while 33,797 passengers travelled on the London Gatwick route and 24,050 on London Heathrow. The Heathrow services were significantly reduced in 2021 and the figure would presumably have been …

OVER the last decade Dublin Airport has established an ever-more dominant position in Irish aviation, but at the moment it can’t deal with the crowds of passengers it has. With this in mind, Clare TD Cathal Crowe has called for Shannon Airport to be utilised to alleviate pressure on both inbound and outbound flights. Issues with security are at present leading to significant delays for those using Dublin Airport as a terminus for their travels. Deputy Crowe said acknowledged following a meeting with Dublin Airport Authority’s CEO Dalton Philips and his management that they were “doing everything possible” to recruit additional security staff. Delays in the Garda vetting process and also enhanced screening measures were proving a huge impediment in terms of having staff on the ground, he said. “I have suggested to the management that flights should be diverted to Shannon Airport, where there is plenty of additional capacity. “I believe that Shannon could play a significant role in …

WHOEVER was left in charge of the Dublin Airport Twitter account last week may have done Shannon an entirely unintended favour. Many thousands of people in Clare and indeed Limerick feel strongly about the success of the airport upon which the region’s economy depends and when Dublin Airport posted a ridiculous, self-regarding tweet about being the key gateway for the 2026 Ryder Cup in Adare, it really jarred. It has helped bring attention to the plight of our struggling airport and the fallout will show local politicians that they must take action to arrest its decline. The term fake news is derided because Donald Trump coined it and has aimed it at some of the most reputable media organisations in the world. Yet the depressing reality is that fake news is often widely believed nowadays, with ease of access to publication through social media and weak deterrents meaning that people are merrily spreading lies all around the world, every single …

ANNOYANCE around the Mid- West was very apparent online late last week, following two provocative tweets from Dublin Airport. The first tweet from the capital’s airport said, “We look forward to being the key gateway for overseas visitors attending #RyderCup 2026, which will take place @TheAdareManor in Limerick”. Claiming to be the key gateway was a cheeky comment from an airport 222km away from Adare, compared to just 43km from Shannon and it wasn’t long before people from Clare and Limerick were responding unfavourably to the display of Dublin arrogance. However, Dublin Airport wasn’t in conciliatory mode and quickly doubled down on the earlier tweet, in response to one man asking was Shannon not the key gateway for the event. “We’ll welcome more overseas visitors for the event, as we’re a much larger airport with much greater connectivity to Britain, the US and continental Europe. Overseas visitors using Dublin Airport go to all 32 counties on the island.” After this, …

    EAST Clare councillors have expressed concern over the stranglehold Dublin Airport has on the grown of passenger numbers over the last five years. Passenger numbers at Shannon Airport are expected to be up to around 1.8 million by the end of this year representing over 30% of an increase since the airport became independent, separating from the Dublin group five years ago. Cork Airport has grown by more than 2%, which translates into 50,000 and Knock Airport by 12% in the same period Traffic at Shannon Airport has grown by over 400,000 since 2013, when the airport began managing its own business future after new legislation allowed it function independently of the Dublin Airport Authority. However, Shannon Heritage managing director, Niall O’Callaghan pointed out the “unhealthy dominance” of Dublin Airport comes sharply into focus with confirmation passengers numbers at the city terminal grew by almost ten million in the same period. Given the focus on regional developments and …

MORE public transport options that are connected to Shannon Airport are needed to make it more attractive for passengers, according to the first citizen. Clare County Council chairman, Councillor Michael Begley has cited his recent experience on a flight from Shannon Airport to Birmingham in England to highlight the difference between what transport opportunities are available for passengers in these two locations. Speaking at a recent Killaloe Municipal District meeting, Councillor Begley told his council colleagues he left Shannon Airport for Birmingham the previous Monday evening. “To my surprise the flight was almost full. Within two hours of leaving Shannon, I had used the plane, shuttle bus, light rail, monorail and a train to be in Birmingham City Centre in two hours. “That is what real access means to me. We are nowhere related to that. I am using Birmingham because it was a commuter short flight. “We have to think how we can make Shannon more attractive to the …

The chief executive of the Shannon Group has hit out at the Government’s aviation policy, which is facilitating the dominance of Dublin Airport. Addressing members of Clare County Council at their November meeting, Shannon Group CEO Matthew Thomas said that aviation policy in Ireland is leading towards the country having only a single airport, in Dublin. Mr Thomas provided figures that showed Dublin Airport had increased its market share from 72% in 2005 to 87% this year and was increasing its dominance at an incredibly fast pace. He said that, despite the growing market across the island, Shannon Airport’s share had fallen from 5.4% to 5.1% since it achieved independence from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA). Nonetheless, the airport had managed to increase passenger numbers by 25%. The Shannon Group was seeking to change the “very immature” Government policy with regards to airports, he said. “The Irish aviation policy was only written a few years ago and this makes it …