Tag Archives: Shannon airport

Clare TD and Fianna Fáil spokesperson on Transport, Timmy Dooley is calling on the Transport Minister to rule out any sale of the Government’s stake in Aer Lingus in order to protect Ireland’s strategic national interests. IAG has come forward with a third offer for the carrier, believed to be worth €2.50 a share. Any such sale could see Aer Lingus’ critical Heathrow slots siphoned off, risking future connectivity and jobs at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports. “IAG’s pursuit of Aer Lingus is becoming more aggressive with every passing week, and I am gravely concerned by the Minister Paschal Donohoe’s silence on the issue. I’m calling on him to categorically rule out any sale of the Government’s 25% stake in Aer Lingus, and by doing so effectively block the IAG takeover. The fallout from any sale of the airline is being dramatically underplayed,” he said. Continuing, Deputy Dooley said,“The threat to the valuable Heathrow slots could see Ireland’s access to international …

Transport Minister, Paschal Donohoe declined to give assurances about the future of Shannon’s Heathrow slots, but he did say in the Dáil this week that maintaining Ireland’s connectivity is a priority. Asked about the prospects of an IAG takeover of Aer Lingus by Clare and Limerick TDs, the minister said, “Currently, no formal offer has been made to Aer Lingus shareholders. That said, I wish to make clear that should such an offer be made, we will take great care and exercise great caution in examining the pros and cons to Ireland of such an offer. “We will bear in mind the same issues we considered when faced with previous takeover bids. We will consider the impact any change in ownership of Aer Lingus would have on the connectivity of Ireland, which connectivity is vital to our economy and our society. We will consider the impact it would have on competition for passengers to and from Irish airports and we …

Shannon Airport has broadened its horizons for the summer sun holidays by confirming that Turkey is back, following confirmation of weekly charter services to the hugely popular Izmir. Sunway Holidays will put on services from May 23to September 19, carrying up to 6,000 additional passengers through Shannon to the sun-kissed city on the western tip of Anatolia this summer. Sunway are 100% Irish owned and the largest Tour Operator to Turkey from Ireland. The news comes after last week’s announcement by Shannon that it grew its passenger numbers by 17% in 2014 and is looking for further increases this year. The new charter will serve the resort of Kusadasi, which is one of the largest and best known of the Aegean Sea holiday resorts in Turkey and has been the most popular resort for Irish tourists for many years. It is a port city built along the shores of a bay. Cruise ships from all the around the world often …

SHANNON Airport saw passenger numbers increase by 17% in 2014, as its recovery continues. The total number of passengers went from 1.4 million in 2013 to 1,639,315 in 2014. Such an increase is very welcome at an airport, whose survival was in doubt just two years ago. In 2012, Shannon had just 1.394 million passengers, the lowest number since 1988. After its separation from the Dublin Airport Authority, the numbers kept falling in the early months of 2013, before beginning to move in the right direction in the second half of the year, with the overall figure slightly ahead of 2012. In 2014 the recovery picked up momentum, with 10 new destinations and 16 service enhancements. Following a deal with Ryanair, most of the 2014 growth was on European routes, with nine new destinations delivering a 70% increase in passengers. While the new services included some sun destinations, there were also high numbers of inbound visitors following the return of …

The potential loss of Aer Lingus slots at Heathrow Airport are at odds with Government plans to correct regional imbalance, the presidents of four chambers of commerce in west have warned. “Recent Government concerns articulated by Jobs Minister, Richard Bruton that Ireland will ‘pay a heavy economic social cost in years to come if regional imbalances are not addressed’ will ring hollow should slots at London Heathrow (LHR), currently controlled by Aer Lingus, be lost in any planned sale of the national carrier,” Paddy Darmody (Ennis), Shannon (Kevin Thompstone), Galway (Frank Greene) and Limerick (Cathal Treacy) said in a joint statement. They stress connectivity through Heathrow gives a small open economy like Ireland unrivalled daily air connectivity to the biggest airport in our country’s leading trading partner and global access and connectivity from Irish airports through the full range of carriers operating at Heathrow. “With Heathrow currently at full capacity, the benefits to IAG of acquiring 23 additional slot pairs are …

A SPOKESMAN for Shannon Airport said this morning that following efforts throughout the night all flights were continuing to operate at the Clare airport, despite the severe snow that struck the county yesterday evening. Met Éireann have warned that a severe storm is set to hit western counties, including Clare from early afternoon, with winds of up to 130km and heavy rain forecast. Clare County Council says that the worst conditions will be along the coast and they have advised people not to venture out or to drive on exposed roads while these conditions prevail.    

RADICAL British Muslim cleric Anjem Choudary has said Ireland is now seen as a legitimate target for attacks by certain terror groups due to the American use of Shannon. Mr Choudary was a founder member of the organisation al-Muhajiroun, which was subsequently banned in Britain under anti terrorist legislation. He is a strong proponet of Sharia law and has been vocal in his support of those who carried out the 9/11 attacks. On Cork radio station Red FM this morning he spoke about the situation in France, and when asked about whether people at Shannon Airport and other strategic parts of the country should be concerned about attacks he said, “I think people should always be concerned because there is a war taking place, that war is a global war taking place on every level.” Asked if Al Qaeda and other radicals now see Ireland as a legitimate target because of the use of Shannon he replied. “It’s not (just) now that …

WHILE there was joy unconfined at Shannon Airport in the days before Christmas as emigrants arrived, the other side of the coin can be seen this week, as families wave off their loved ones. Antoinette Jenkins came home from Perth, with her husband, Mark, and their three children. Her parents, Sean and Mary Nestor, were saying goodbye to them in the terminal on Tuesday afternoon. Temperatures in Perth regularly hit 30oC during December, which was in stark contrast to the wintry conditions at Shannon but the weather didn’t dim her enjoyment of the visit at all. “We had a lovely time. It was great to be back and to see all the family. It’s very, very hot there [in Perth] and very cold here but we love the change, so it’s all good.” She has been in Australia for 18 years and is well settled there now. “It’s great, we’ve lots of friends there but it’s also great to get …