Shannon’s transatlantic passenger numbers fall 23%

TRANSATLANTIC passenger numbers through Shannon dropped by a massive 23% last year, according to new figures.

A total of 3.1 million passengers travelled through Shannon in 2008, a decline of 12% on the previous year.

Terminal traffic also dropped by 10% last year.

A spokesperson said the reduced passenger volumes reflect the impact of the full application of the EU-US Open Skies agreement and the cancellation of the Aer Lingus London Heathrow service during January 2008.

The Shannon Airport Authority spokeswoman said: “Despite the current very challenging circumstances, Shannon Airport has retained the services of four transatlantic carriers for 2009 (Aer Lingus, Continental, Delta Air Lines and US Airways).

“While Delta Airlines has confirmed it will not operate a Shannon-Atlanta service in Summer 2009, it remains committed to operating a daily New York service on a year-round basis. Aer Lingus will operate to New York, Boston and Chicago, while Continental and US Airways will continue to serve Newark and Philadelphia respectively on a similar basis to 2008.”

The planned introduction of full US pre-clearance facilities at Shannon in July 2009 will be the first such service in Europe and will facilitate access to a broad range of domestic airport terminals throughout the US.

On short-haul services, Ryanair achieved its passenger targets on its 32-route network at Shannon and now has six aircraft based in Shannon.

The spokeswoman said: “The planned Aer Lingus restoration of daily services to London Heathrow next March is very welcome news to the airport and the region. The combination of London Heathrow and Paris hub connections means that Shannon has better global connectivity than ever before.

“The City Jet/Air France service to Paris performed well during 2008 with high load factors. Our charters performed well during 2008 with the traditional destinations of Canary Islands, Spain and Portugal proving the most popular.”

Work, meanwhile, has commenced on the refurbishment of catering facilities within the terminal and a new programme to upgrade the airport’s retail services will be completed for the summer 2009 season.

Martin Moroney, director at Shannon said: “Airports across Europe and Britain are reporting reduced passenger traffic levels for 2008 due to reduced economic activity worldwide. During 2008 our key focus was to limit the effects of the loss of the Heathrow service and the full application of the Open Skies agreement by seeking to develop additional traffic streams for the airport.”