Tag Archives: Mary Considine

AFTER nearly two years, transatlantic flights resumed at Shannon this Thursday, writes Owen Ryan, with the departure of an Aer Lingus service to Boston, followed by the resumption of its New York service tomorrow. Representatives from multinational companies, the tourism sector and local politicians all attended an event to mark the first flight, and addressing those in attendance Shannon Group CEO Mary Considine said it was very heartening to see connectivity to America restored. “As all of you know we have a very rich history here of air links to the US and the east coast of the United States so it’s really great news today that they are being restored. We’re really excited as well to see US visitors back on our shore, and we are joined this morning by many members of the tourism sector, the hospitality sector.” She said that the sector is emerging from a uniquely difficult time and the return of Americans is very welcome. …

SHANNON Airport had just under 380,000 passengers in 2021, with Covid-19 measures having a huge impact. It was only after the rollout of vaccinations and the introduction of the EU Digital Covid Cert that restrictions on non essential air travel were lifted in mid July. The numbers that travelled in 2021 were actually an increase on the 352,000 figure in 2020, but they were down by 78% on 2019, the last full year of operation prior to the pandemic. Shannon Group CEO Mary Considine said that while it had been a challenging year, the relaxation of restrictions gives grounds for optimism. “Our team at Shannon Group have been unwavering in our focus on recovery and rebuilding to ensure a successful future for our employees, the people and businesses in our region who rely on our Shannon Airport services for their livelihoods. Although it has been another challenging year, having come through the worst of the Pandemic, we are confident that …

THE first Aer Lingus flight from Shannon to London in 18 months took off from the Clare airport this afternoon. Arrival times from London into Shannon are 16:10 on Monday through Friday and Sunday, with arrival time on Saturdays scheduled for 15:45. The service will operate for ten weeks during the closure of Cork Airport for runway upgrade works. Shannon Group CEO Mary Considine said it was great to see the service back in what has been and continues to be an extremely difficult period for the aviation sector. “The connectivity provided by Aer Lingus at Shannon has always been a valuable contributor to the regional economy,” said Ms Considine. “The hub status of Heathrow for businesses to connect with the global marketplace is crucial, and the inbound Heathrow service helps drive tourism into the region.” “We are working closely with Aer Lingus and our other airline partners to build on the service and to resume long-haul services,” she added. …

THE Shannon Group CEO has called for the public to use and support Aer Lingus’ Heathrow service from Clare’s airport as much as possible to ensure the route’s long-term future. Mary Considine was speaking this Wednesday ahead of the return of the Aer Lingus London Heathrow service to Shannon Airport on September 13. “It is great to see the Heathrow service return to Shannon in what has been, and continues to be, an extremely difficult period for the aviation sector,” said Ms Considine. “We will be working closely with Aer Lingus to build the service and to resume long-haul services, however, airlines make decisions on routes based on a number of factors, one of the most important of which is how many passengers will travel on their flight. “The best way to ensure the Heathrow service and indeed other routes, remain for the long term is for people to support them. “We have already seen encouraging up-take for the range …

RYANAIR launched eight new Shannon routes on Thursday morning and said it will carry more passengers to and from the airport over the next year than it did in 2019, before Covid struck. The airline’s CEO Eddie Wilson praised Shannon Airport’s management for being proactive in securing new services, and estimated around one million people will fly with Ryanair to and from Shannon in the next 12 months, up by around 25% on the 2019 figure. It announced six new services for the winter 2021 season, to London-Luton, Budapest, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Fuerteventura and Turin. New services already in place for the summer include Corfu and Gran Canaria. While there has been some criticism of Shannon’s separation from the other State airports in recent times, Mr Wilson said the deal wouldn’t have been possible had it still been part of the DAA group, with Dublin and Cork. “You have a situation whereby Dublin and Cork have not been able to respond …

WITH non-essential international travel resuming this morning, a new route out of Shannon Airport to the Canary Islands has been announced. Ryanair will run a new service to Gran Canaria (Las Palmas), beginning on August 7, that will operate once a week until the end of October. Welcoming the announcement Mary Considine, CEO, Shannon Group said: “As we rebuild from the devastation of the pandemic this is a positive announcement for the region. Ryanair is a valued airline partner of Shannon and this latest announcement, following on from the new Corfu and Turin services, is great news. “We have been working closely with Ryanair as we look to an anticipated recovery in demand on foot of the rollout of the EU Digital Covid Certificates and the acceleration of the vaccination programme across Europe. These new services are part of Ryanair’s commitment to reopen its Shannon base which is very welcome. ✈️ ROUTE NEWS ✈️ Ryanair announce today a new service …

WHEN non-essential international travel resumes next week it will be the most significant step forward for crisis-stricken Shannon Airport since Covid-19 arrived last year. The airport faces a very difficult path back to sustainability, as airports away from major cities are likely to be much slower to recover. Nevertheless, the recovery is at least beginning, and CEO Mary Considine said there is something to be positive about now. “There is an air of optimism around the place. Next week, with the lifting of the ban on non essential travel and the adoption of the Covid digital cert, these are important milestones,” she told The Clare Champion. “We have a very long road back to recovery to anything like pre pandemic levels of traffic, but it’s important to recognise that this is a significant step.” Around 40 staff availed of redundancy during the pandemic, while many others have had reduced working hours, but some of those reductions are being reversed as …

THE reopening of Ryanair’s base in Shannon Airport on April 21 has been lauded as a major boost for tourism-related businesses throughout Clare, which have been very badly hit by Covid-19. Speaking to the Clare Champion in Shannon Airport, Shannon Group chief executive officer, Mary Considine said the recommencement of 14 routes from Shannon next April is a “big boost for business in the region”. “Talking to businesses, they need to get their people back out travelling in the market place once it is safe to do so. “We have seen first hand the devastation caused not only by the pandemic but the lack of international visitors into the country and the impact it has had on all these businesses. “There will be a lot of hoteliers, tourism and hospitality providers who will be relieved to see this Ryanair base is back and that we have some services next year. “As we rebuild from the devastation of the pandemic this …