merrion street

Minister of State for Tourism and Sport Patrick O’Donovan TD has today welcomed the announcement from Norwegian Air International (NAI) of their new transatlantic services from Cork and Shannon this summer.

Speaking today Minister O’Donovan said: “This announcement from NAI is a significant and welcome development in the transatlantic aviation market and will further assist tourism growth in the Mid and South West. With another new carrier to Shannon, we now see the Airport with its largest number of US services in over 17 years, this is very significant for Shannon and for the wider region it serves, from both a jobs and tourism perspective, and contributes to the government’s objectives on balanced regional development. The new services will also be the first scheduled transatlantic flights for Cork, and will bring a welcome boost to the region. The government and in particular the Taoiseach, along with a range of State agencies, have been very supportive of NAI’s plans and we all welcome that the airline is now in a position to commence services.”

Irish tourism had a record breaking year in 2016, particularly from North America which increased by 19.4% compared to 2015 figures, new services such as NAI’s will ensure that 2017 will be even better. Shannon Airport has also seen strong growth with a 24% increase in passenger numbers. This new development in the market will allow Irish tourism to further build on this upward trend. After a number of years of declining passenger numbers, passenger numbers at Cork Airport grew by 8% to more than 2.23 million last year.

Editors Notes
New weekly transatlantic flights from Shannon:
- 2 weekly flights (Wed, Sun) will connect Shannon with Stewart International in New York state, with fares from 69 Euros
- 2 weekly flights (Mon, Fri) will offer connections from Shannon to Providence Airport, serving the greater Boston and New England areas. Fares start from 69 Euros
- Flights are now on sale at www.norwegian.com