Cork Airport receives unfair criticism because there are unrealistic expectations of the service it provides, according to travel agents in the city and county.

When the players of FC Haka of Finland walked off the pitch at Turner’s Cross in July 2008 following an entertaining 2-2 draw, few of the home fans could have predicted that it would be seven long years before the ground would hold another European club fixture.

The Government has been urged to halt the alarming slide in passenger numbers at Cork Airport after Aer Lingus pulled the plug on its Cork to Brussels route for the winter.

A record number of cruise ship passengers will disembark in Cork next year, up 15% on this year and worth an estimated €21m to the economy.

For the first time, people will be able to take a trip directly from an Irish port on a major cruise ship, courtesy of a deal between a travel agency and the Royal Caribbean International line.

Looking for an Easter getaway that won’t break the bank? Disneyland Paris is celebrating its 20th birthday, and Pól Ó Conghaile has more egg-cellent offers for seasonal trips at home or away

CORK company Hello France specialises in flexible holidays which the company says have been tested by experienced staff — holidays can start and finish on any day of the week, allowing clients to match their dates with mid-week flight and ferry savings.

THE head of the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) has blamed the banks for the collapse of a well-known travel agency.

SUNWAY is in the midst of promoting Kenya — with a range of packages designed to suit all tastes.

CHARLIE Wilkins, the well known gardening columnist, will be leading an unusual Mediterranean cruise in September. The trip will include a flight from Cork to Barcelona, with two nights on terra firma, and seven further days and nights on the high seas, with the liner calling into such ports as Nice, Pisa/Florence, Rome, Naples and Sicily.

LEE Travel has teamed up with UK-based agency Enjoy Travel to present Craic on the Cruise, Ireland’s only Floating Fleadh!

HURTIGRUTEN, the Norwegian specialist cruise company, will invest €250,000 to launch in the Irish market this week.

MUNSTER’S next European destination, Geneva, is bracing itself for the mother of all invasions as the Red Army gears itself up for its historic first Heineken pool match in the Swiss Alpine city on Sunday.

THE big event of the spring in Cork is Federation Day.

THE promising young hooker shouldered his way through the post-match throng and placed the pints down on the table.