Tag Archives: passengers

ALL week, news reports have been highlighting the crisis at Dublin Airport, where more than 1,000 people missed flights last Sunday. Around Clare there is little sympathy for an airport which is seen as having pursued a fairly aggressive policy of targeting the traffic of its smaller competitors. Many people are saying they won’t fly from the capital again, happy to  holiday from whatever destinations Shannon has available at the time. To test the ease of using Shannon, the Clare Champion simulated the experience of a passenger catching a flight scheduled for departure to the UK at 3.15pm on Wednesday afternoon. The first step involved driving to Shannon and after leaving Ennis at 1.19pm, we turned off the engine in Shannon 21 minutes later.  While people who only fly from Shannon might not fully appreciate it, the fact of not hitting any red lights in the miles up to the airport and effectively having no congestion to deal with is …

THE Rome-Chicago flight which diverted to Shannon yesterday is set to continue onwards at 3pm this afternoon, after no explosive device was found. Emergency services spent hours searching luggage on the runway at Shannon yesterday afternoon, while passengers were also forced to spend long spells outside, having disembarked from the aircraft. It is understood that messages were written on a mirror and a door in the toilets of the plane, warning of a bomb. Once the passengers were taken off, sniffer dogs searched the luggage while a subsequent visual search was carried out. Samples of handwriting were also taken from those on board. Passengers spent the night in local hotels and it is understood many of them missed onward connections as a result of the delay. Owen Ryan

Shannon Airport will remain open throughout Monday, despite the potential impact of Hurricane Ophelia. A Shannon Airport spokeswoman stressed the safety of passengers and staff is its first priority. The spokesperson asked passengers to contact their airline with regard to updates on schedule changes for Monday. However, at this point the airport is aware of the following flight cancellations: Aer Lingus Regional EI3675/3672 from and to Edinburgh and EI 3639/3638 from and to Birmingham, and London/Heathrow EI381 and EI384 with Aer Lingus. Delta flight DL406 from NY JFK has been diverted to Dublin Airport. “Airlines will continue to advise passengers of schedule changes and we advise intending passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport tomorrow.  Shannon Airport will continue monitoring the situation throughout the day and live flight information is available on www.shannonairport.ie or on the Shannon Airport App. “Shannon Airport will post airport operational updates tomorrow on its social media channels …

Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune has warned of possible competition from other airports in the EU who may be granted customs and immigration Pre clearance by the US authorities in direct competition with Shannon and Dublin airports. Up until now, Ireland is the only EU country where passengers can pre clear US customs in both Shannon and Dublin airports. That means that passengers travelling from Shannon and Dublin Airports to America can save up to two hours of queuing at immigration in the United States by pre-clearing in Ireland. Passengers simply collect their bags once they land in the US and are free to go. The Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) said pre clearance in Dublin attracted passengers from the UK and other European countries, many of whom use Ireland as a transit stop for pre clearance. Clune was speaking after the US department of Homeland Security named 11 airports this weekend as potential locations for preclearance operations. “Over the …

A 28-year-old American man has been fined €1,000 after a plane was forced to divert to Shannon Airport. The diversion coast the airline €100,000. Barman Jody Bochner of Miami, Florida appeared at Limerick District Court, charged with threatening and abusive behaviour; being intoxicated and failing to obey directions from cabin crew. The Norwegian Air flight had been in the air for 40 minutes when cabin crew were alerted to smoke in one of the lavatories. An e-cigarette was allegedly taken from Bochner and he was returned to his seat. Around 20 minutes later Bochner became abusive and attempted to hit one of the male cabin crew members before he was restrained and handcuffed with the help of some passengers. Defence solicitor Stiofan Fitzpatrick said the incident was extremely unfortunate and there was no rhyme nor reason to explaining his client’s actions. He said his client was returning to America after visiting his girlfriend in London and had taken drink to …

Clare is poised to benefit from the upsurge in tourism activity, with 2015 set to become a bumper year for the industry. That’s according to chairman of the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs Pat Breen. The Clare deputy pointed out that the tourism sector in Clare has experienced growth thanks to the revival of Shannon Airport, the abolition of the Air Travel Tax and the retention of the reduced VAT on tourism services. “Our tourism industry is experiencing rapid growth and according to Bord Fáilte, the number of visitors will grow again next year with 2015  set to become a bumper year for tourism with record levels of revenue expected and the creation of a further 8,000 jobs in the industry,” he outlined. Deputy Breen said the promotion of The Wild Atlantic Way has been a major success with the opening of the lighthouse in Loop Head helping to drive tourists back into West Clare. “The Loop Head Peninsula received …

Shannon Airport’s strong momentum across 2014 has continued into the final month of the autumn, with passenger numbers for October showing a 28% increase on the same period twelve months ago. The biggest gains in passengers through the terminal were again on European services, which were up by 63% on the same period 12 months ago thanks to a range of nine attractive new routes that were launched for the summer season (April through to end of October). Eight of those were on the European market, which resulted in a 111% increase (from 20,347 to 42,950) in passengers to and from the continent last month compared to October 2013. Transatlantic passengers were up by 15% (from 23,511 to 27,108) thanks to the increased frequency across New York and Boston services this year, with Shannon’s biggest market, the UK, up by 6% (from 61,681 to 65,243). Welcoming the growth, Airport CEO Neil Pakey said, “It’s been a really great summer season …

AER Lingus Regional, operated by Stobart Air, experienced its best month on record in June since the franchise began in March 2010. The airline carried 130,098 passengers last month, a 37% increase on the same period in 2013 (95,000). Furthermore, June 2014 marked a full year of consecutive growth for the airline and the third consecutive month of growth in excess of 30%. Passenger numbers at Shannon Airport were up 29% in June while overall, across the entire network, traffic was up by 26% for the first half of 2014 when compared to the first half of 2013. Aer Lingus Regional’s services to Bristol from Shannon, Dublin and Cork experienced record growth in June, due mainly to the Glastonbury Festival. The Aer Lingus Regional Bristol services experienced passenger growth of 66% in June, compared with the same period last year. Commenting on the month’s successes, Simon Fagan, Chief Commercial Officer, Stobart Air, said: “June 2014 was a monumental month for …