There is good news for Shannon Airport this week with the announcement that Stobart Air is to recommence services to Birmingham from June 18.
Shannon Group plc chief commercial officer, Andrew Murphy, in welcoming what he described as “a positive development”, said that the decision by Stobart to return to Shannon is further validation of the market support for services to and from the airport.
“We are very pleased to welcome back Stobart Air on this route. This is testament to the demand for services between Shannon and Birmingham and we look forward to working with Stobart and ensuring passengers flying to and from Shannon on this route get the best possible airport experience.
“This adds another route to our summer schedule for 2015, delivering an additional 45,000 seats into the bargain. Birmingham has a catchment of 20 million people living within 90 minutes travel time, more than any other UK airport, and this opens up considerable opportunities to grow the number of tourists visiting the West of Ireland.
“From an outbound perspective, Birmingham is a very strong business and conferencing centre. Its central location means that you can easily access a host of major urban centres in the UK from there also. Stobart Air is also operating one of its new ATR 72-600 aircraft on the service and this will further enhance the passenger experience.
A native of Ennis, Colin McGann has been editor of The Clare Champion since August 2020. Former editor of The Clare People, he is a journalism and communications graduate of Dublin Institute of Technology.