Shannon Airport Downplays Concern Over Dip In Passenger Numbers

Photo © Pat Flynn

Shannon Airport insists overall air traffic this year will be marginally up on 2016 – despite a recent dip in passenger numbers.

CSO figures reveal that Shannon took a 5.6% hit in passengers in the third quarter of this year, but Shannon Group’s CEO insists that doesn’t tell the full story.

Clare FM’s James Mulhall reports:

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This week’s figures reveal that Shannon’s passenger numbers dipped to just over 531,000 between July and September, a fall over over 30,000 on the same time last year.

While this has raised concern locally, Shannon Group has downplayed it.

They point to a 25% increase since the Airport separated from the Dublin Airport Authority in 2013 – while the IAA’s November traffic showed that commercial terminal flights at Shannon were up 6.4%.

The Group has also said that transit passengers aren’t taken into account by the CSO, and that this is up 80% this year.

However, speaking recently on Clare FM’s Morning Focus, CEO of Shannon Group Matthew Thomas said it’s important to look beyond passenger numbers.

This year saw a number of key routes lost at Shannon – including some London services, Berlin, the direct route to Chicago and the suspension of the Newark route.

But in a year of swings and roundabouts, Norwegian Air, Ryanair and Air Canada all announced new routes at the MidWest facility.

Cathaoirleach of Shannon Municipal District, Sinn Féin’s Mike McKee is confident it’s only a temporary blip.

Meanwhile, Aer Lingus recently added another ten transatlantic routes to its Dublin services – something that has led to calls locally for at least one of these to be awarded to Shannon.

Fianna Fáil Newmarket-on-Fergus Councillor Pat McMahon is tired of seeing Shannon being forgotten about.

Shannon Group says they are looking forward to 2018 with positivity – and that they will be pursuing new routes to add to the airport.

Shannon Group Statement

Shannon Group CEO Matthew Thomas said: “Shannon Airport’s passenger numbers this year will be marginally up on 2016 and, overall, will be 25% up on passenger numbers from when we separated in 2013, which is a very positive achievement. The CSO figures released this week do not take account our significant transit business at Shannon, which accounts for 9% of our passenger numbers and which has enjoyed growth of 80% year to date thanks to additional frequencies from Kuwait Airways.

“Irish traffic from the UK is down as a result of the fall-out from Brexit. With sterling now down about 13% against the Euro from where it was prior to the Brexit vote, UK passengers are travelling less abroad and this is reflected in the UK visitor numbers as reported by Tourism Ireland and the CSO. However, the reduction in traffic from the UK has been offset by growth in other areas of business, such as the commencement of Norwegian Air International services to Stewart, New York and Providence, Rhode Island, the new seasonal services to Stockholm and Frankfurt and the growth in transit traffic.

“Looking ahead to 2018, we are looking forward to the start of new services to Reus-Barcelona and Toronto Canada with Air Canada, as well as the first full year of Norwegian operations. We are also continuing to pursue other opportunities and are confident that 2018 will be a positive year for Shannon.

“We also must address the domestic aviation environment and believe that the National Planning Framework, which we expect will be finalised early in 2018, is the vehicle for this. This will be the blueprint for economic development across Ireland over the next two decades and it must recognise the role that airports play in driving economic activity. It must provide for a greater dispersal of passenger growth into airports in the regions, which, in turn, will grow the economy of those regions in line with the ambitious targets set across our catchment.

“There is no coincidence that 40% of US foreign direct investment in Ireland is located within the catchment of Shannon Airport. It’s because of the connectivity that Shannon has historically provided.

“There are some excellent international examples of how this can be done, not least in Denmark where they have concluded that increasing connectivity in airports outside the capital would have a bigger economic impact than adding additional flights to the same destination in Copenhagen.

“So, 2018 for us will be about aggressively pursuing new route opportunities; working hard to become more efficient, which will enable us to be even more competitive; and working with our key stakeholders to develop an operating environment that strengthens airports in the regions and their respective regional economies.”