Shannon Airport’s global standing as a leading international airport in its class has been reinforced with its selection as winner of the World Routes Marketing Awards 2016 for airports under 4 million passengers.
For the second time in three years the airport claimed the ‘Best Marketing of Airports’ award at an overnight event at the New Century Global Centre in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China.
Other shortlisted airports in the category were Halifax International, Aruba, Belfast City Airport and Cork Airport.
The annual Routes Marketing Awards are widely regarded as the most valuable awards in the industry and Shannon’s second win in three years keeps up a remarkable record since the airport was separated in 2013.
Both last year and in 2013 Shannon was ‘Highly Commended’ in the category, giving the airport four podium finishes in four successive years since it was separated. The global awards are voted on exclusively by airlines and recognise the marketing and promotional activities of airports and tourism destinations globally.
They are held at the World Routes Networking Evening – one of the premier networking events for the airline industry at the annual World Routes event, which is this year taking place over three days in China and ends tomorrow. Over the three days, 3,000 high profile delegates take part in over 15,000 face-to-face meetings at World Routes, which will shape the future of the world’s air services.
Speaking after receiving the award, CEO of Shannon Group Matthew Thomas said: “This is a great moment for Shannon and really is testament to the team for their hard work. These are very prestigious awards and to be on the podium each of the last four years and win the category outright in two of those speaks volumes about Shannon’s standing in global aviation. There’s no airport of its size quite like it in the world and clearly we are not the only ones that think that.”
Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Murphy added, “This is an incredibly proud achievement for Shannon. To have such a record in a top international awards programme in any sector is a fantastic achievement. We may not be the biggest airport but we strive to work harder and more creatively than our competitors and this award win very much recognises that.”
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.