THE convenience of travelling from Shannon Airport was a common theme with holiday makers boarding the inaugural service to Barcelona this morning.

There was a holiday buzz in the departures lounge of the airport this morning as passengers boarded the 8.40am service to the new destination with Ryanair. This is the second service by Ryanair to the Catalonia region from Shannon Airport.

Commenting on the route, passenger Jim Lynch from Clarecastle, said he is delighted with the new service.

“I am lucky enough to have a house just over the border in France. I will arrive now in Girona, and I will be able to pick up my car and will hopefully be in my house in about 45 minutes.

“That basically means leaving Shannon Airport at 8.40am and being in my house in the South of France at about 12.30pm Irish time, which is just incredible. I hope people use this flight.

“Just to go to Barcelona for the weekend, you can get on the plane, and get into Barcelona and have a great time. Girona is a beautiful city also. People normally head to Barcelona, but you can go to Girona itself for two or three days – it is a fabulous city as well. So, I am delighted with the flight and long may it last.”

Chloe Mulligan who travelled to Shannon Airport from Co. Roscommon was also departing on the inaugural service with Ryanair.

Chloe said, “We are going to Girona, and we are super-duper excited. This morning we went through [Shannon Airport] easy breezy and are really looking forward to the rest of the trip.”

Lucy and Aidan O’Malley from West Clare explained “how handy” it is for them to travel from Shannon Airport to Barcelona-Girona for their holiday break in Costa Brava.

Lucy said, “We have loads of time to spare because we got through security and everything. It took less than ten minutes, so its excellent.”

While Aidan said, “It’s a pleasure going through [Shannon Airport] here, the convenience of it and the flight here is now close to where we are going on holidays, so overall, [we are] looking forward to it.”

Sheila from Ballyconneelly in Galway and her husband said they were “thrilled” to be flying out to Girona today, to meet with family for the first time in two years. They were delighted with the stress-free experience of travelling through the airport.

The new service will operate twice weekly, each Tuesday and Saturday until the end of October 2022. For information on more summer destinations visit www.shannonairport.ie