Tag Archives: Shannon airport

THE current obligation on Aer Lingus to run a Heathrow-Shannon service, put in place as a condition of the Government’s sale of the State’s shares in the airline back in 2015, is about to run out. While it is understood that the routes had been performing well prior to Covid, the fact that the guarantee is expiring will inevitably induce a certain amount of trepidation given how significant they are. The fact that Shannon Airport has connectivity to Heathrow is deemed hugely important to it and to Clare. Heathrow is one of the world’s busiest airports and a global hub, meaning that passengers who fly there from Shannon can travel onwards to a massive number of destinations. The link is of huge importance to Shannon’s industrial base and to Clare’s tourism industry. Clare TD Cathal Crowe raised the situation with Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe in the Dáil last week, while he also questioned if the State could help Shannon secure …

SHANNON Airport and Ireland West Airport (Knock) have become the first two in the world to be recognised as Age Friendly airports by the World Health Organisation (WHO).  The achievement was marked at a ceremony in Ireland West Airport, officiated by Hildegarde Naughton TD, Minister of State at the Department of Transport.  Congratulating the airports, Ms Naughton said: “Ireland has taken an international lead in making the airport environment age-friendly and we now look forward to sharing this learning with other airports around the world. “Making sure that airport facilities are age friendly is an effective way to enhance their accessibility and usability for everyone. “It ensures that domestic passengers feel confident in organising a trip abroad and it makes Ireland more attractive as a destination to older travellers from other countries.”  Commenting on the initiative Mary Considine, CEO, Shannon Group said: “It is wonderful to be one of two airports on Ireland’s west coast leading the way to being …

VERY high levels of demand are behind the high prices currently being charged for certain flights from Shannon Airport, its CEO Mary Considine told Clare county councillors. Independent councillor Michael Begley and Fianna Fáil’s Pat Hayes both questioned prices currently being charged, and in response Ms Considine said that with strong sales, airlines are charging more for the few remaining seats on flights. “We have 27 routes now if you include Paris, available from Shannon, at the moment the load factors are very high for the summer season. That is driving up price, that is the quandary. “If you have a flight with 95% load factor already, only 5% seat capacity available, the airline will manage their own yield and you’ll pay more for that.” She said that airlines rather than the airport set the prices. “Unfortunately that’s outside our control, that’s not washing our hands of it, the reality is that we are very competitive as an airport, we …

The possibility of Clare County Council’s Chief Executive joining the board of Shannon Group was raised at a meeting of the group and the local authority. While Conal Henry said he hadn’t given the idea much thought, he wasn’t supportive of it. “The job of the board is to promote the interests of the entity to which it is the board. The job of the Chief Executive (of Clare County Council) is to promote the interests of Clare. They’re generally the same, but not always.” Mr Henry said it would create some potential for conflicts of interest. “It doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have the interests of Clare County Council and the people of Clare at the forefront of our minds. “It means from a corporate governance point of view everybody on the board of Shannon should be thinking first and foremost about the interests of Shannon. “That’s not Pat’s (Clare County Council CEO Pat Dowling) job, Pat’s job first and …

THE new service from Shannon to Paris Orly by low-cost Spanish airline Vueling will not only give passengers access to the French capital, but also provide hub connectivity to other European cities and the Middle East, said Clare TD Joe Carey. “This should prove a significant attraction to the tourism market and also to the many businesses in the Mid-West that are focused on the European and Middle Eastern markets, said the Fine Gael TD. “It also increases the number of airlines operating out of Shannon to four and should encourage other international carriers to view the airport as a viable alternative to the overburdened Dublin gateway,” he said. “The fact that the Shannon Group continued to invest and develop passenger facilities during the Covid pandemic is now being seen as a major factor in the airport’s ongoing recovery. “The new security screening technology has proven to be a major factor in enhancing Shannon’s reputation as a passenger friendly airport. …

A SUGGESTION last week from Sinn Féin’s transport spokesman Darren O’Rourke that Shannon staff be transferred to Dublin Airport to help deal with the crisis saw him heavily criticised in Clare. Responding on Tuesday, he said his suggestion (and in the Dáil the Transport Minister indicated attempts had been made to do exactly what Mr O’Rourke suggested) had been slammed in Clare for political reasons. “I thought it was mischief making and those who were critical were doing so for political reasons. They know very well that they are in the parties that have overseen a totally lopsided aviation policy. “All of the dominance of Dublin Airport is directly as a result of their policies, not because of Sinn Féin’s policy. “They know too that the suggestion was made in the context of a national embarrassment, a national emergency, it was made in the context of a number of suggestions, everything on the table. “That was the position we adopted …

Vueling Airlines, the low-cost Spanish airline, will operate a twice weekly service to Paris Orly Airport on Mondays and Fridays starting from September 12. Shannon Group welcomed the announcement of the direct Paris service with fares starting from €30.99 calling it a “further boost to Shannon Airport’s pandemic recovery”. Orly Airport is the nearest airport to the centre of Paris, just 13km from the city of lights. It is the second largest airport in France and provides hub connectivity with onward connections to major European cities and Middle Eastern countries. Commenting on the announcement, Shannon Group CEO, Mary Considine said: “We are delighted to welcome our new carrier Vueling, part of IAG, to Shannon Airport. This service is another major boost for inbound and outbound business and tourism interests in the region. “We have been working closely with Vueling to deliver the service and are looking forward to seeing our passengers jet off to this globally renowned city, steeped in …

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 …