Shannon Airport has welcomed the announcement by Ryanair that it is to add five routes on to its winter schedule this year as another significant boost for the airport. The airport’s winter schedule, which starts at the end of October, will see Ryanair retain its new Paris, Berlin, Fuerteventura, Warsaw and Krakow routes, all of which commenced in April. 
In all, Ryanair will operate 10 routes this winter, five more than last year. The other routes operated by the airline across the winter schedule will be London Gatwick, Lanzarote, Liverpool, Stansted and Wroclaw.
Neil Pakey, Shannon Airport Chief Executive, said: “This is a very important commitment by Ryanair to its Shannon schedule. We are already experiencing a significant upswing in summer passenger numbers thanks to the airline’s nine new routes, which started at the beginning of April. A major objective of ours after securing those new summer services was to bolster the winter season and this is a significant move in that regard.”
Airport Chairman Rose Hynes added: “We have forged a strong relationship with Ryanair since the airport was made independent and this is making a significant contribution to the re-emergence of Shannon Airport as a catalyst for growth across this region.
“Shannon needs to be sustainable across the entire year and these five new routes are helping us improve the balance across the two seasons. The new routes all have strong demand and a major positive also is the potential for inbound tourism in the off-peak period, which is extremely important for not just Shannon Airport but the region. This is a continuation of the upward curve in passenger numbers that we have delivered since the airport became independent in January of last year.”
Ryanair’s David O’Brien said: “Ryanair is pleased to launch our Shannon 2014 winter schedule, with 10 routes, including five new routes to Berlin, Fuerteventura, Krakow, Paris and Warsaw, as well as extra flights to and from London Stansted.
“The scrapping of the air travel tax from April last year has restored Ireland’s competitiveness and attractiveness to overseas visitors. We are delighted to be able to grow our Shannon operation by more than 50% this winter season and deliver over one million more customers to Irish airports in 2014-2015.”
