Resumption of transatlantic flights from Shannon Airport a landmark day – Crowe

 

 

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Tourism and Aviation Cathal Crowe has welcomed the return of transatlantic flights to Shannon Airport from tomorrow (March 10th).

 

Minister of State at the Department of Transport Hildegarde Naughton will be at the airport to officially welcome the resumption of Aer Lingus’ route to Boston Logan – a landmark day for Shannon Airport after an extremely difficult two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

“I’m delighted to see the resumption of flights from Shannon Airport to the States,” said Deputy Crowe.

 

“It’s been almost two years since we’ve had direct connectivity to North America from Ireland’s Midwest region.

 

“Shannon Airport was disproportionately impacted by the Covid pandemic, as during even the worst days of the pandemic a trickle of flights flew in and out of Dublin and Cork saw a restoration of some of its services before Shannon did.

 

“In recent months, there’s been a surge of bookings on Ryanair flights in and out of Shannon and my family are amongst those booked to fly from the airport this summer.

 

“But transatlantic flights are absolutely essential in terms of attracting tourists to the west of Ireland and also enticing foreign direct investment to our region.

 

“The lack of these flights has severely impacted some of our iconic sites in the Midwest such as the Cliffs of Moher, Bunratty Castle and Folk Park and those who hire cars and drive into the beautiful little villages along the Wild Atlantic Way.

 

“In 2019 while I was serving as Mayor of Clare, I made a trip to the Milwaukee Irish Fest to promote Co. Clare and Shannon Airport.

 

“There, I made many contacts and I now am again reaching out to these people inviting them to come back to Ireland this summer and spend some of their precious holiday time here.

 

“Over the coming weeks, the Irish government will begin preparations for a new National Aviation Policy.

 

“The Covid pandemic has reset aviation in Ireland and we shouldn’t just be happy to see a return to pre-Covid operations – it’s essential that this new policy ensures a more balanced regional spread of aviation and reverses, to some extent, the trend of almost 90% of all flights landing in Ireland coming through Dublin Airport.”