Concern has been expressed over a dip in passenger numbers at Shannon Airport.
The latest figures from the CSO show a 5.5% drop in the number of people flying in and out of the midwest facility between April and June, compared to the same time last year, the only Irish airport to see a fall-off in numbers.
The airport says it’s down to a reduction in Stansted services, which has been negated by an increase in transit passengers, and that the figures don’t include the new transatlantic services launched by Norwegian in July.
While the summer season this year has been very positive for Shannon, with a 16% increase in capacity overall compared to the same period last year.
But former Labour TD, Michael McNamara has been telling me that he believes the figures are cause for concern:
Statement from Shannon Airport spokesperson:
“Shannon Airport’s passenger numbers for the period covered by the CSO’s quarterly bulletin (April – June) are on a par with last year. While there was a decrease in terminal traffic due to a reduction in Stansted services, this was negated by an increase in transit passengers, which are not recorded in CSO figures.
“Beyond that, the summer season this year has been very positive for Shannon, with a 16% increase in capacity overall compared to the same period last year. The gains included two new Norwegian Air International services to the US (Orange County, New York and Providence, Rhode Island) from July, a Lufthansa service to Frankfurt and Scandanavian Airlines flights to Stockholm. We are also in ongoing conversations with a number of airlines and look forward to further gains in 2018.”