This article is from page 17 of the 2005-10-11 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 17 JPG
THE INCREASING number of Ryanair _ flights through Shannon has played a crucial role in the air- port breaking all-time passenger records for the first nine months of this year. Figures published by Shan- non airport show that passenger numbers are expected to top three million by the end of the year.
More people used the airport during the first nine months of this year (2.5 million), than did during the whole of last year (almost 2.4 million). The figures point to a 36 per cent increase in passengers flying into and out of Shannon, when compared with the same pe- riod last year.
The largest-growing market is the UK. More than 873,000 people have travelled on UK routes since the start of the year, an increase by 68 per cent on the 2004 figure. European services have carried 518,000 pas-
sengers, which is up 41 per cent on the corresponding period last year. There was also a slight increase in transatlantic traffic – two per cent – through Shannon during the first nine months of the year.
In addition to this growth, the figures show that more people are flying to the sun from Shannon. During the first nine months of the year, 132,440 passengers flew on holiday charters from Shannon, an increase of 14 per cent on the first nine months of last year.
Airport Director Martin Moroney said the increases across the board are positive. “Ryanair has contributed greatly to this. It has played a huge role and a big part of the growth is outbound traffic. People are coming to Shannon from all over the country, to fly to various destinations all over Europe and beyond,” he said.
“Shannon is seen as an airport for the country, not just the mid-west,’ he said, adding that the two per cent increase in transatlantic traffic was particularly
satisfactory, given the difficult tourist season. Shannon airport management are particularly satis-
fied with the new Shannon/Boston flight operated by
American Airlines, which commenced in May.
“We are pleased with this daily flight, which is prov- ing very popular. American Airlines is the world’s biggest airline and we hope to expand with them in the future,” said Mr Moroney. He stressed the importance of elements in the tourism sector promoting Shannon in overseas markets in the run-up to the winter. “With ongoing co-operation between ourselves, Shannon Development and other tourism agencies, I am con- fident that we can respond to that challenge and that west of Ireland tourism will be the major beneficiary of Shannon’s record-breaking traffic performance this year,’ he added.