Tag Archives: shannon

Irish Covid-19 testing company, RocDoc, has announced the opening of a new new mass testing facility in Shannon Business Park. The new centre is one of three being opened by RocDoc this week along with centres in Cork and Swords in Dublin. The announcement also sees the creation of 120 jobs spread across the three locations. The new mass testing facility in Shannon will provide additional capacity to meet the demands of the busy Christmas season and the additional testing requirements for international travel due to the Omicron variant. RocDoc currently operates a drive-thru testing centre at Shannon Airport, two testing facilities at Dublin Airport and one at Cork Airport. All three new facilities will be walk-in only. Commenting on the announcement, RocDoc Chief Executive, David Rock, said; ‘’We’re very happy to be able to announce that our new mass testing facility in Shannon opens to the public today, providing additional capacity at this critical time. “A lot of hard …

WITH storms battering the coast this week, the weather has been a far cry from last month. Shannon recorded the highest temperature in Ireland in the month just past, that day was also the warmest November day there for 43 years. A temperature of 17.7 degrees celsius was recorded in Shannon on November 14, the warmest temperature in the town in the month of November since 1978. There was also 25% more sunshine in Shannon over the course of the month than in an average November. Met Éireann statistics show that the amount of rainfall in Shannon during the month was 43% below what would be expected in an average November. In its summary of the month Met Éireann said the first two thirds of the month were mild with the high pressure mostly centred to the south of Ireland. The final third of the month saw high pressure shift to the west of Ireland, allowing cooler air masses from …

WITH Christmas just around the corner, the local conference of St Vincent de Paul held its annual collection at the Town Centre last Friday. It’s an important fundraiser for the charity and spokesperson Bridget Kirby said there had been a great response, telling The Champion, “People were very, very generous.” Bridget has been involved with St Vincent de Paul for over 20 years, but says this Christmas is shaping up to be the most hectic so far. “We’ve been so busy this year, I’ve never seen anything like it before. People don’t have a lot. Some of them have young children, they have big ESB bills, there’s heating, we do a lot of helping with coal and with oil. It’s a tough time.” More strain has been put on the charity because it can’t accept donations of food these days. “The schools used to get children to bring in tins of peas and beans and boxes of cornflakes and things …

THERE has been some bad news for Shannon as American Airlines is opting not to resume a number of routes between the US and Europe next summer, including Philadelphia-Shannon. A spokesperson for Shannon Group said, “The aviation sector has taken a battering during the Covid-19 pandemic and recovery was always going to take time. Due to a shortage of aircraft as a result of delayed delivery of Boeing 787 aircraft, American Airlines have been forced to reduce a number of routes they operate worldwide. Among these is their Philadelphia to Shannon service. However, Shannon Airport is working with them on restoring this service for 2023. In the meantime Shannon will see the welcome resumption of transatlantic services next year to New York and Boston with Aer Lingus, and to Newark with United.” The Wall Street Journal today reported that American will not be flying from the US to Hong Kong and Edinburgh next summer, while it is also reducing flights …

A SPOKESPERSON for Shannon Airport confirmed that two Ryanair flights due to land at Cork Airport this morning diverted to Shannon Airport. Flight FR901 from Stansted to Cork and FR3738 from Birmingham to Cork diverted to Shannon, both landing safely at a 9.10am and 11.15am respectively. Passengers from Stansted were transferred by bus to Cork and transfer arrangements are awaited for Birmingham passengers. “The Ryanair Shannon to Gatwick service took off on schedule at 10.55am, an earlier flight from Shannon to Tenerife took off at 7.21am. Aer Lingus services from and to Heathrow Airport scheduled for later this afternoon (EI 385 and EI386) have been cancelled due to the expected severity of storm Barra,” said the spokesperson. “There have been no further confirmed flight cancellations yet, and we are awaiting updates from our airlines. However, as a status red weather warning for County Clare is due to come into effect at 4.00pm today, we strongly advise intending passengers to check …

AN Bord Pleanála is due to give a decision by next Tuesday on Aldi’s appeal against a Clare County Council decision to refuse planning permission for a Shannon store. Despite not having planning permission Aldi is evidently confident about the pending decision, as it released a statement saying the development will be going ahead. “Aldi will open a new store in Shannon as part of a €320m Irish expansion drive in a bid to further grow its share of the Irish grocery market,” the statement said. “The investment drive will see Aldi open 30 new stores across the country, building on the €1.6 billion Aldi has already invested in its 149 Irish store and distribution network. “Aldi will increase its investment in Ireland by more than 75% over the next three years compared to 2019-2021.” In a submission to An Bord Pleanála, Clare County Council asked that its decision to refuse planning permission be upheld. It stated that a new …

A NEW Ryanair Shannon-Malta service is to commence in March of next year. It will be the first time Ryanair have run a Malta service from Shannon and it will operate twice weekly, each Thursday (departing Shannon at 5.25pm) and Sunday (departing Shannon at 10.40am), running from March 27 until October 27. Malta is expected to be a popular destination with holidaymakers and brings to 20 the number of Ryanair services available from Shannon Airport next summer. “We know that restoring connectivity is important to our airport customers and that is why we have been working hard with our airline partners to create exciting holiday opportunities,” said Shannon Group CEO Mary Considine. “We are delighted to be able to offer our airport customers another great destination. This brings to 20 the number of destinations Ryanair will serve from Shannon next summer including the three new Ryanair services which began operation last month to Fuerteventura, Birmingham and Budapest. “With its warm …

Shannon Airport is running an initiative which it launched on World Kindness Day (last Saturday, November 13) to acknowledge its customers who have shown kindness in their communities. Services to 19 destinations are currently operating from Shannon International Airport and the airport is asking people to nominate a passenger flying into or out of Shannon any time between up until November 27 for a special surprise. “If you know of someone who has shown kindness to others, be it through volunteering, being a community leader, or going the extra mile to help someone out, then we would love to hear from you. People have been through so much during the past 20 months and while Covid-19 has taken its toll on all of us, the spirit of human kindness is still alive and well. That’s why we would like to surprise some deserving people with a small token of appreciation for their efforts,” says Niall Maloney, Head of Operations and …