Tourism operators in this county say extensive state supports will be needed to ensure their survival beyond Aer Lingus’ departure date from Shannon.
It comes as businesses here are still looking for certainty on a date for the resumption of international travel.
The loss of the Aer Lingus base at Shannon Airport has been described as ‘detrimental’ for tourism and business connectivity throughout Clare and the Midwest region.
The airline confirmed in a statement following yesterday’s announcement that it will emerge smaller from the pandemic, with Shannon Group saying a timeline for the restart of aviation in some form here and throughout the country is ‘critical’.
That timeline has been mooted as August at the earliest this week by Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, prior to Aer Lingus’ decision being made public.
That’s despite the EU’s Digital Green Certificate being set to be implemented across most of the 27 member states around mid-June.
Chair of Loop Head Tourism, Luke Aston, says many similar tourism businesses in this county and elsewhere will struggle to survive if other European countries return to non-essential international travel quicker than Ireland.
Other operators here believe some form of state aid or subsidies are required to ensure the survival of the tourism industry throughout the Midwest and the rest of the country.
The German government provided €9 billion in state aid to Lufthansa at the beginning of the pandemic, with other countries in the EU providing various forms of assistance to its airlines in the past year.
The government has provided millions of euro in funding to Shannon Airport since the onset of COVID-19, mostly in the form of capital grants.
But Chair of the Clare Tourism Advisory Forum and Co-Owner of Hotel Woodstock in Ennis, Sean Lally, believes further supports will be needed in the short, medium and long term.
