Major blow to tourism

Date Published: 07-Aug-2007

The closure of the Shannon/Heathrow route by Aer Lingus is expected to have serious implications for tourism in Galway.

Aer Lingus was expected today to announce its discontinuation of their Shannon/Heathrow route which is to be relocated to the airline’s new UK hub based at Belfast. This means a loss of 10% of airport traffic representing 320,000 passengers per annum.

Fiona Monaghan, General Manager of Fáilte Ireland West, expressed her disappointment at the news adding that it would be a “huge challenge” for the tourist office to work with the airport authorities to find an alternative airline to service Heathrow from Shannon Airport.

“We had no inclination that the Aer Lingus London route was not working and didn’t know the airline were considering discontinuing it. It’s not good news for us as it will have serious implications for tourism to the region.

“Their transatlantic routes will continue but…..