This article is from page 6 of the 2009-08-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 6 JPG
AER LINGUS passengers flying to US destinations from Shannon will not be able to use pre-immigration facilities at the airport until late next year.
Yesterday, the chairman of the Shannon branch of the Irish Hotels’ Federation (IHF), Michael Vaughan expressed concern that Shannon would lose market share and passen- gers over the situation.
Over the past 23 years, all trans- atlantic passengers flying to JFK in New York and Boston have been able to avail of the pre-immigration clear- ance at Shannon.
The facility avoided long queues at JFK and Boston at immigration.
However, with the introduction of new €21m Customs and Border Pro- tection (CBP), the immigration and customs clearance is now combined.
Unlike the other three transatlantic carriers, Aer Lingus has opted out of the CBP service until a similar facil- ity is in place at Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport late next year.
The airline has cited operational and logistical reasons and Aer Lin- gus passengers will now not be proc- essed until they reach JFK and Bos- ton, with the closure of the existing immigration pre-clearance post at Shannon as it has got subsumed into the larger CBP facility.
The chairman of the Shannon branch of the IHF, Mr Vaughan yes- terday expressed concern that Aer Lingus passengers not being able to
avail of pre-clearance facilities for the next year. “It is a big thing for passengers to be able to fly and have the immigration pre-clearance out of the way. It is very much valued by the business traveller, who doesn’t want any delays.
‘Aer Lingus not participating in the customs and border protection down- grades the status of Shannon.
“IT would be worried that Shannon would lose market share and passen- gers over this. It is another negative for Shannon,” he said.
Mr Vaughan said that the IHF
hopes to meet with Aer Lingus exec- utives to discuss the situation. “With the New York route under threat this winter, this is something that Shan- non Airport could do without.”
Earlier this month, the new facili- ties opened with Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) chairman, Pat Shanahan describing the opening of the facility as “a milestone for the oy ola mae
“It is a great innovative opportunity for Shannon, and offers us the oppor- tunity to grow our transatlantic traf- fic,’ he said.
The introduction of the facilities comes against the background of traffic on US routes out of Shannon falling by 19 per cent for the first six months and a drop of seven per cent on all routes.
The facilities are in place following a bi-lateral agreement between the US and Ireland, and Mr Rooney said that the new pre-clearance facilities will offer economic and security benefits.