This article is from page 4 of the 2012-10-30 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 4 JPG
EVERY cloud has a silver lining and while Hurricane Sandy could mean devastation for parts of the American east coast, it could mean a miniboost for hotels in Shannon and Ennis.
Hundreds of tourists have already been stranded on both sides of the Atlantic as the hurricane has shut down airports all over the American east coast.
Aer Lingus cancelled all their Monday EI-111 and EI-110 services between Shannon and New York and it looks likely that further cancellations will take place this week.
The airline will announce later today if they will be in a position to operate the service this Wednesday and customers are asked to check their flights before coming to Shannon.
The centre of the hurricane is predicted to hit Philadelphia some time later today and is expected to move north to New York over Wednesday. This could bring about a lengthy closure of airports in New York, strand- ing American visitors in the Clare area for an extended period of time.
The airline has also offered to accommodate anyone affected by the cancellations on a subsequent service between Shannon and New York, at no extra cost.
A spokesperson from Aer Lingus said yesterday that they will continue to keep a close eye on the situation in New York and other American airports in the days ahead.
“Customers who wish to cancel their travel plans will receive a full refund,” said a spokesperson.
“Aer Lingus apologises to all customers affected by these cancellations.”
While there are no official figures for the numbers of tourists who have been forced to spend an unplanned, extended vacation in the Clare area, the effects of the hurricane could leave hundreds of Americans stranded in the Banner.
As many as 1,000 Aer Lingus customers are currently weathering the storm in New York, waiting for the city’s public transport and airports to reopen.