The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
THERE was good news for Shannon this morning as Aer Lingus committed to restoring key services from Shannon and it continued this afternoon with United Airlines announcing it will resume Shannon-Newark/New York from March 27 of next year.
Mary Considine, CEO of Shannon Group said: “The restoration of this service is another welcome boost for transatlantic connectivity to our region and the broader west of Ireland.
“United Airlines is a highly valued airline partner of Shannon and we are delighted to have been able to work with them to restore this vital transatlantic service. Its restoration is a vote of confidence by the airline and another major milestone as we continue to rebuild Shannon Airport’s air services and fulfil our role as an economic driver for tourism, business and social connectivity.”
Ms Considine said it is more great news for the airport, as it emerges from the pandemic. “Earlier today Aer Lingus announced its return on JFK New York and Boston routes next year as well as its Heathrow continuation and now we have United’s commitment on Newark, also servicing the New York market.
“Shannon’s importance to the wider west and, indeed, south of the country in terms of transatlantic services especially, is well understood. We are the only airport on this side of the island of Ireland with transatlantic flights so the return of these services will be widely welcomed. These announcements make this a really positive week for Shannon and the wider region and we build from here.”
Ms Considine continued: “This United Airlines service provides significant onward connections at Newark, which is a huge attraction at Shannon from both an inbound and outbound perspective. Over the past 22 years, this service has brought over 2.1 million passengers to Shannon, which illustrates the importance of this route from both a business and tourism perspective.
“Prior to the pandemic, Shannon’s transatlantic services were well supported and it is important now for people in the region to get behind United’s New York/Newark service to ensure its success,” said Ms Considine.
The Shannon-New York/Newark service will run from March 27 to the October 29 2022 and will be operated by Boeing 757-200 aircraft, departing daily from Shannon at 12.30pm.
Owen Ryan
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked for a number of other regional titles in Limerick, Galway and Cork.
