Lift-off for new Alicante service

A NEW Ryanair Shannon-Alicante service was launched in Limerick last Thursday, something of a reverse on the trend of the last few years.

Ryanair will operate the new route twice weekly, on Wednesdays and Friday, commencing on June 5 and running until September 27.

The service, which last operated at Shannon in 2010, will be a boost for holiday makers, as around 40,000 used it in each of the years 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Welcoming the news, Shannon Airport Authority chairperson Rose Hynes said, “This Ryanair announcement is really good news for thousands of holiday makers from the region as Alicante is one of the most popular sun destinations operated from this airport. Thankfully, these people now have the pleasure and convenience again of flying from Shannon and we expect it will be a hugely successful route.

“We have had a really good start to life as an independent entity, with a range of new services in place for this year. Alicante was at the top of our list in terms of European sun destinations operated from this airport. Thankfully, these people now have the pleasure and convenience again of flying from Shannon and we expect it will be a hugely successful route.”

In addition to Alicante, Ryanair will also be increasing the frequency of its flights to Malaga and Palma during the peak summer months, as well as providing flights to Lanzarote, Tenerife, Nantes, Wroclaw, London Stansted, London Gatwick and Liverpool.

Ms Hynes said she is confident Shannon will increase its passenger numbers from the paltry 1.4 million, to 2.5m in the next five years. She also said Shannon is discussing new routes with Ryanair and other airlines. “We are independent of the DAA, we can make our own decisions, we are in discussion with a number of airlines, we are in discussion with Ryanair and I am absolutely sure that we will grow our passengers.”

The Shannon Airport Authority chair said attempts are also being made to tackle the airport’s costs. “We’re looking at our cost base too. You’ll have seen our task force report, it said that we needed to look at our retail offering and we’re looking at that and a raft of things like that. There’s no magic to it, you just have to focus on it.”

She also confirmed the selection of a chief executive for Shannon has moved to the shortlist stage and the position is expected to be filled in the coming months.