January dip for Shannon

SHANNON Airport chairperson, Rose Hynes has often said there is no silver bullet for recovery and flight movement statistics for January show that the newly independent airport authority faces a major challenge.
The amount of commercial movements at the airport in January of this year was down by 10.70% on January 2012, falling from 1,279 to 1,142.
While it is a disappointing start to life as an independent entity for Shannon, a spokesperson said that the early months of the year are always difficult and that improvements are expected as the year goes on.
“The early months of the year are always the most challenging and particularly in the current climate but we are fortunate that we can look forward to increased traffic over the course of the year thanks to the commencement of new routes and a strengthening of existing ones. This wasn’t the case over previous years.
“On transatlantic alone, we have 25% increase in capacity during the summer season (March to October) thanks to new routes coming on stream for Philadelphia and Chicago.  The upswing kicks off next month with the return of Aer Lingus early on JFK New York and Boston routes, in time for the St Patrick’s weekend celebrations and we also have Delta returning for the summer on JFK.
“Outside the US, we also have a new route announced for Faro, which is one of the most attractive sun destinations in Europe, as well as a doubling of our services to Bodrum in Turkey for the summer season.    We will be very strong on the UK routes again this year and have recently added Glasgow to our schedule with Flybe.”
The spokesperson also said that efforts are continuing to add to Shannon’s portfolio of destinations. “In addition to the gains we have already secured, the newly independent Shannon Airport will be marketed aggressively and competitively for other sustainable services. 
“The environment remains challenging and these new services, which were hard won, will need to be supported by the public.  But after a really difficult four years for the airport, we are confident that 2013 will be the turning point for us,” the spokesperson concluded.