EUjet to link with tourist hotspots

AIRLINE EUjet yesterday revealed a major boost to services from the west of Ireland to some of Europe’s top holiday destinations.

The Shannon-based carrier plans to fly thousands of travellers to the Mediterranean hotspots of Ibiza and Palma de Mallorca in 2005.

EUjet also said it would increase the frequency of its services to Kent, Faro in Portugal and Malaga in Spain, and its Dublin-Kent route will operate twice daily.

The airline hopes to attract around 1.3 million passengers over the next 12 months.

The carrier revealed last week that it would expand services from Kent in the spring, with new destinations to Alicante, Belfast, Budapest, Cologne, Ibiza, Newcastle, Seville and Valencia.

This will bring the number of scheduled routes operated by EUjet from Kent International Airport to 26 next year.

PJ McGoldrick, EUjet chief executive, said the launch of the new network was another step in regenerating Shannon since the new airport authority took over.

“This is fantastic news for EUjet and Shannon.

“Having our home base and headquarters in Shannon, we are particularly pleased to play our part in the revitalisation of Shannon,” he said.

“This is really the beginning of a very exciting time, as we now have a tremendous range of routes out of Ireland and Britain, which we will continue to add to as demand grows.”

EUjet’s decision comes less than a month after budget airline Ryanair announced a $240 million investment in Shannon to target new European routes.