Shannon Airport’s year has taken-off emphatically with the 16 service enhancements, including nine new Ryanair routes, for the summer season resulting in a 15% increase in the first half of the year in terminal passenger numbers, latest statistics show.
A breakdown of the figures, revealed at a joint Shannon Airport – Ryanair Travel Clinic in Bunratty to promote the airline’s winter schedule, complete with five additional services on last year’s schedule, shows that passenger numbers on European routes have enjoyed a 54% uplift in the year to date.
The bulk of the increase has been driven by the nine new services – to Munich, Paris, Faro, Warsaw, Krakow, Nice, Poitiers, Berlin, Fuerteventura – launched by Ryanair in April. Overall, passenger numbers through the Shannon terminal in the first six months of the year were 653,894, up from 568,133 in the same period last year.
The increase, which is timely in the context of the launch of the Wild Atlantic Way driving route this year, has not just been confined to Europe, with UK passengers showing a return to growth after some challenging years with a 5% increase and transatlantic up by 11%.
Andrew Murphy, Shannon Airport Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We are really happy with the passenger numbers so far this year. We worked hard with our airline partners to secure the new services and there has been a really positive response from the public.
“We have made huge strides this year in meeting the demand for services to and from Shannon with the nine new routes for the summer season. We are also looking at a better upcoming winter season thanks to the five additional services that Ryanair have announced.
“The significant increases in services are very timely this year with the launch of the Wild Atlantic Way. Shannon is the only airport on the route with services from all three key markets: the US, UK and Continental Europe. If Shannon is going well, it bodes well for the route.”
