Cityjet to pull Shannon-Paris route

SHANNON Airport has been dealt another blow as CityJet has announced it is pulling its Shannon to Paris route.

The route was started in February last year after Aer Lingus pulled the plug on its Shannon to Heathrow service.

However, Aer Lingus reinstated its service earlier this year.

At the time, Cityjet said it was prepared to stay in the mid-west and “battle for international travellers”.

However, it said that the “continuing economic downturn”, which it said has hit the mid-west particularly hard in recent months, has led to a steep decline in the route’s performance.

It said it cannot foresee passenger numbers and revenues reaching a break-even level and it has decided to terminate the service from October 24.

All passengers booked on flights from Shannon to Paris or beyond after this date will be accommodated on Air France flights from Dublin or receive a refund, the airline said.

CityJet chief executive Geoffrey O’Byrne said: “We recognise that the route has won a loyal following and we are glad to have been able to provide the region with much-needed worldwide connectivity in the last two years.”

CityJet owner Air France-KLM said it remains “strongly committed” to the Irish market.

Shannon Airport suffered a 19% drop in transatlantic traffic for the first six months of this year.

Overall passenger numbers dropped by 7% to 1.4 million from January to June.

The drop is expected to result in Shannon airport not breaking the three million barrier for the first time since 2005.