Ryanair has announced plans to add six new routes from Shannon, taking its network from the airport to 18 destinations this winter.
The carrier will offer flights to the UK destinations of Birmingham, Edinburgh and Luton, as well as routes to Budapest, Fuerteventura and Turin.
The new services are in addition to two new routes from Shannon starting this week to Corfu and Gran Canaria.
Aer Lingus is currently the only other carrier offering flights between Shannon and the UK, with a service to London Heathrow.
Mary Considine, CEO of the Shannon Group, which operates the airport called the news “another important step on our road to recovery”.
“Restoring its [Ryanair’s] second based aircraft here at Shannon demonstrates Ryanair’s continued commitment to our airport,” said Considine. “The confirmation of 18 routes from Shannon for winter including exciting new destinations such as Budapest and Turin, is very positive news for the airport and for this region after what has been a very difficult period for the aviation industry.
“There is intense competition globally for air services as countries try to recover from the virtual closing down of international travel. Recovery from the devastation caused by the pandemic will take time, with aviation analysts predicting that it will take a number of years for passenger numbers to recover to anything like 2019 levels.
“As we work to rebuild our air services, I am proud of our team who have worked closely with Ryanair to secure these latest winter air services to London Luton, Budapest, Fuerteventura, Edinburgh, Turin and Birmingham, for the people of our region to enjoy.
“In addition, our existing services to London Stansted, London Gatwick, Manchester, Krakow, Wroclaw, Warsaw, Kaunas, Tenerife, Lanzarote, Malaga, Alicante and Gran Canaria (Las Palmas), will continue to operate throughout the winter.
“When people are ready to travel, our airport staff are ready to welcome them back. We want our passengers to experience that first flight delight which was evident this week with the inaugural Corfu service.
“The excitement expressed by passengers heading off on their first overseas trip in quite a while has given our airport employees a real boost as they begin to return to doing what they do best, which is to look after our passengers and make their experience at the airport enjoyable, memorable and easy.”
