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Tag Archives: Shannon airport

Henry: time for policy to address Dublin Airport dominance

IRISH aviation policy needs to change, new Shannon Group chairman Conal Henry told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications last week, but acknowledged that it would be difficult to make the changes required and that he didn’t have all the answers to what needs to be done. He warned that if there isn’t an effective policy solution a meeting like the one he was attending will “take place over and over again” with people speaking about imbalance. In general he said that one outlet having 87% of the market is something that would need to be adjusted. “If we were a private business and 87% of the widgets were being made in one factory and 13% in another four we would re-evaluate our strategy.” At the meeting Timmy Dooley claimed that in previous years Shannon Group had not been focused enough on aviation, which he said is by far the most important aspect of its operations. He claimed …

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Henry optimistic for Shannon but State help still needed

THERE are reasons to be confident about Shannon’s recovery from the downturn caused by Covid-19, but it is not a given and ongoing support will be required, Conal Henry, the incoming chairman of Shannon Group told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications this week. A Belfast native now based in Dublin, he said that he does have a good understanding of issues in the Mid West. “It is important to stress that I have spent a significant amount of time in the Mid-West over the years. As well as running enet in Limerick for 12 years, I also served two terms as a director of the Shannon Foynes Port company. So, I think have a good understanding of the challenges associated with the region, and the region’s economic issues as well.” He said that there are reasons for optimism about the future of Shannon Group. “Over the years Shannon Group has contributed significantly to economic activity and growth …

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Flannan’s students’ VIP treatment as they lift off from Shannon

ST Flannan’s students this week jetted off to the States where they will present designs for a space settlement at the International Space Development Conference (ISDC). The Ennis students received the VIP treatment at Shannon Airport, which is sponsoring their flight to Washington DC after the group won the NASA Ames Space Settlement Contest to design an inhabitable settlement in space. As previously reported in The Clare Champion, the “Mag Mell” settlement was designed by fifth year physics students, Naem Haq, Adam Downes, Cian Pyne, Jack O’Connor and Garabhan Monahan. Speaking from Shannon Airport ahead of their flight to Washington, their physics teacher John Conneely said, “This is a wonderful opportunity. We are so proud of our students for winning the grand prize out of 17,000 students from 22 countries.  We are incredibly grateful to Shannon Airport for the support. “It is quite fitting that we are travelling from Shannon to the International Space Development Conference. Our students were thrilled to …

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Councillor says we should be telling Dublin Airport ‘I told ye so’

DUBLIN Airport officials have been told they should be careful what they wish for, after unprecedented overcrowding at the facility in recent weeks. At the May Council meeting, a joint motion from Councillors Daly, Crowe, Begley, McMahon, Killeen, O’Gorman and Keating, called on the Department of Transport to divert spare capacity to Shannon Airport. “Dublin has clearly been unable to cater for what it has while Shannon needs more passengers,” the motion outlined.  Councillor Pat Daly outlined that he had recently met a woman from County Offaly at Shannon Airport. “She thought it was brilliant,” he said. “That shows we should be marketing to the Midlands. It’s only and hour and half from Ennis.” Councillor John Crowe said, “We should be saying ‘I told ye so’. Dublin wanted it all for the last 20 years. They got it all and they can’t deal with it.  For a short-haul flight, you have to be there between two and three hours ahead; …

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US veterans fined but acquitted of Shannon damage and trespass

Two US army veterans in their 80s have been fined €5,000 each for interfering with the operation of Shannon Airport as part of an anti-war protest three years ago, report Isabel Hayes and Claire Henry. The jury at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court acquitted Ken Mayers (85) and Tarak Kauff (80) of criminal damage to an airport perimeter fence and of trespassing at the airport with the intent to commit an offence or interfere with property. The verdicts came on Tuesday afternoon after more than five and a half hours of deliberations. The jury returned a majority verdict of guilty on the charge of interfering with the operation, safety or management of an airport by entering the runway area and causing the airport to close. The majority verdict was 10 to two, the court heard. At a sentence hearing on Wednesday Tony McGillicuddy SC, prosecuting, told the court that the penalty is a fine not exceeding €250,000, two years in prison or …

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Shannon convenience a winner with Girona passengers

THE convenience of travelling from Shannon Airport was a common theme with holiday makers boarding the inaugural service to Barcelona this morning. There was a holiday buzz in the departures lounge of the airport this morning as passengers boarded the 8.40am service to the new destination with Ryanair. This is the second service by Ryanair to the Catalonia region from Shannon Airport. Commenting on the route, passenger Jim Lynch from Clarecastle, said he is delighted with the new service. “I am lucky enough to have a house just over the border in France. I will arrive now in Girona, and I will be able to pick up my car and will hopefully be in my house in about 45 minutes. “That basically means leaving Shannon Airport at 8.40am and being in my house in the South of France at about 12.30pm Irish time, which is just incredible. I hope people use this flight. “Just to go to Barcelona for the …

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Only 4% of air travellers in 2021 used Shannon Airport

FOUR percent of all passengers to Irish airports in 2021 went through Shannon, new figures from the Central Statistics Office show. Obviously Covid-19 was very disruptive to aviation last year, making for a very strange year. Shannon’s 4% was ahead of Cork which had 3%, but Cork was closed for a couple of months due to works on its runway. Dublin was hugely dominant in terms of Irish aviation, with 90% of all passengers. Shannon had 322,162 passengers during the year, only one fifth of the 2019 figure, just before the pandemic. The figure was almost 50,000 ahead of 2020. Shannon dealt with 4,836 different flights over the course of the year. The three most used links with Shannon were all London airports. The busiest route was Stansted with 63,624 passengers, while 33,797 passengers travelled on the London Gatwick route and 24,050 on London Heathrow. The Heathrow services were significantly reduced in 2021 and the figure would presumably have been …

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Ocotgenarians were ‘most courteous protestors’ ever

Two men in their 80s accused of criminal damage and trespass at Shannon Airport were “the nicest and most courteous protesters” an airport officer had ever met, their trial has heard. Richard Moloney, a former police fire officer at Shannon Airport, told Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that Ken Mayers (85) and Tarak Kauff (80) told him they were going to check an American aircraft when he apprehended them on a taxiway at the airport in March 2019. “They were very courteous. I had no hassle dealing with them,” Mr Moloney told Tony McGillicuddy BL, prosecuting, this Tuesday. “They said they were peace protesters. I said, ‘Unfortunately I have to hold you here for your own safety’.” Under questioning from defence counsel, Mr Moloney agreed it was immediately obvious to him that the men were protesters and he soon saw that they were elderly. “As the man says, this was not my first rodeo dealing with protesters,” Mr Moloney said. “These …

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