SHANNON has recorded another month of growth after terminal passenger results for November showed a 26% increase on November 2013, up from 77,002 to 97,292.
In keeping with trends from the summer season onwards, the biggest increase was in European traffic, with November passenger numbers growing from 7,121 last year to 20,883 this year, up by almost 200%. A range of new services secured for the winter schedule, including Berlin, Fuerteventura, Krakow, Paris and Warsaw, were responsible for much of this growth.
Transatlantic passenger figures also reflected the strenghened services, with a daily Boston and six times weekly JFK New York service. Transatlantic passenger numbers showed a 15% increase on November 2013 with 2,583 additional passengers.
Britain is the airport’s biggest market, and there was a 7% increase there, resulting in 3,460 more passengers.
Welcoming another month of growth, Shannon CEO Neil Pakey said, “The addition of the new services on our winter schedule is reaping a strong return. We have enjoyed a sustained period of growth and our objective now is to maintain this into the New Year.
“This year’s winter schedule has greater inbound options than last so that’s an opportunity for short-term breaks here during the off-peak season as well. This time last year we were looking at very marginal growth for 2013 but this year we are confident we will hit double digit percentage growth.”
The Irish Aviation Authority traffic figures for November 2014 showed that the number of flights at Shannon was up by 7.5% in the month, with 47 daily commercial movements.
With the year drawing to a close, Eamonn Brennan, Chief Executive of the IAA said Shannon and Dublin have both done well in 2014. “I am particularly pleased with the improvements at Dublin and Shannon, thanks to the work of the DAA and Shannon Group to bring in new routes and new airlines. Dublin looks set to grow by about 6&% this year, handling an average of 481 commercial flights each day, whilst Shannon will record an impressive increase of about 20% this year, with 60 flights per day.”
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.