Up, up and away for Cork airport’s historic take-off

They’d waited 56 years to secure a direct transatlantic service to the US, so a 30-minute delay wasn’t going to spoil the party at Cork Airport.

After three years of intense lobbying, which went all the way to the Oval Office, in the end, it took about 30-seconds for Norwegian Air International flight D81821 — a Boeing 737-800 with around 150 people on board — to power down runway 35 and take off for TF Green Airport in Providence, about 90-minutes south of Boston, on Saturday.

It was a routine take-off for pilots Klaus Schulz and Ivar Tysseland, who lifted off close to taxiway Charlie, at 4.51pm.