Seaplane firm planning to start Galway-Dublin flights

Date Published: 11-Apr-2011

BY CIARAN TIERNEY

The backers of a new seaplane service from Galway Docks are confident that they could have a link to Dublin city centre up and running by September, less than two months after Aer Arann’s subsidised route between the two cities comes to an end.

Harbour Flights, based in Co Clare, plan to link the city’s docks with Limerick, Aran, and Dublin, and intend to have daily chartered flights to and from the capital within five months.

The launch of the new Limerick and Aran services is contingent on a €40,000 grant decision from the Galway City and County Enterprise Board, who are due to meet the backers of the proposed seaplane service this Friday.

Businessman Emelyn Heaps, CEO of Harbour Flights Ireland, said his company had been planning to develop a Galway-Dublin link for four years. He described Aer Arann’s decision to cease the link between the city’s two airports as an opportunity for his firm.

“It’s a great opportunity for us,” he said. “That’s business. We are hoping to open up our route in September and it would be a great thing for the people of Galway. People will be able to avoid the hassle of going from airport to airport, of lengthy security queues, they can check-in in a matter of minutes and fly to a city centre location.”

He said that, subject to approval from the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), the Galway to Dublin city centre link can be up and running by September.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel