A Clare government TD is criticising Aer Lingus for its “strategic decision” to temporarily suspend flights at Shannon Airport.
The daily Shannon to Boston Logan service will be cancelled for six days in the run up to Christmas, due to aircraft shortages facing the airline.
Between April and June alone, almost 30,000 passengers availed of the popular daily service from Shannon to Boston, with 15,047 arrivals in Clare and a further 14,737 departures.
Essentially, this means an average of 327 passengers are using the service every single day.
As usual for this time of year, a significant spike is expected for the Christmas period, as family and friends look to reunite with loved ones.
But due to issues with aircraft availability, Aer Lingus is suspending the service from Shannon from December 11th to December 17th, with passengers re-accommodated on various inbound and outbound flights from Dublin Airport instead.
Those still wishing to fly to Boston from Shannon during this period will have to make a stopover in New York before being transferred to Logan Airport by Jet Blue.
In addition to the Shannon- Boston flights cancelled between 11th and 17th December, Aer Lingus has now confirmed that two flights from Shannon – London Heathrow have been cancelled (All Impacted customers however have been rebooked on the same day on alternative flights from Shannon.), while the remainder of the Shannon Christmas schedule will be unaffected.
However Sixmilebridge Independent Councillor PJ Ryan believes the airline’s decision to sacrifice services at Shannon in favour of Dublin has created unnecessary disruption and is completely illogical.
In a statement to Clare FM, Aer Lingus says it has had to make “a number of tactical cancellations to our US operations between the 11th and 17th December due to aircraft availability in this period”
Its understood that one of the airline’s Airbus A321neo aircraft which facilitates long distance and transatlantic routes is still undergoing repairs and maintenance after suffering damage in a tail strike last year.
A Clare Government TD, meanwhile, believes Aer Lingus should view Shannon as the solution to their problem rather than a bad debt.
Meelick Fianna Fáil Deputy Cathal Crowe, who’s also his party’s spokesperson on Aviation, is imploring the airline to source a replacement aircraft from its affiliate partners such as British Airways and Iberia Airlines, to ensure local travellers can enjoy a pain free Christmas.
You can listen to the full interview below.
