Shannon Airport Ryanair New Routes

Mixed news for Shannon Airport as Ryanair announce new routes but Aer Lingus reveal job losses
Ryanair plans to expand at the airport but Aer Lingus is cutting back
There has been mixed news for aviation jobs at Shannon Airport today with Ryanair and Aer Lingus making separate announcements.

Ryanair is to boost its services at Shannon Airport with 300,000 new seats every year on eight new routes to the UK and continental Europe.

However, there was also bad news with Aer Lingus announcing that they are axing 87 cabin crew obs at Shannon Airport.

The airline has refused to confirm if there will be compulsory redundancies while it is understood redeployment options to Dublin or Cork, or voluntary severance, will be offered.

The Ryanair deal alone represents passenger growth of almost 15% at Shannon Airport next year.

It marks the end of five years of falling passenger numbers.

The new services that will commence are Berlin, Paris, Fuerteventura, Warsaw, Faro, Munich, Nice and Krakow, with an increase in frequency between Stansted and Shannon.

Transport Minister Leo Varadker: “This announcement of eight new routes by Ryanair is further evidence of the success of the Government's decision to break up the State airport monopoly, and allow Shannon Airport to compete on its own and cut its own deals.”.

Ryanair's deputy chief executive, Michael Cawley, said the decision was taken because the Government decided to scrap the €3 air travel tax from April next year.

He said: "The scrapping of the air travel tax will help restore Ireland’s competitiveness and attractiveness to overseas visitors from the UK and Continental Europe in particular.

"Having met with all five of the main Irish airports, we hope to announce further new route and traffic growth plans over the coming weeks.”

The Mayor of Clare, Joe Arkins, welcomed the announcement and said it was a major boost for the airport and the region.

He said: "Today marks 68 years to the day since the first scheduled commercial flight, an American Overseas Airlines DC-4, landed at Shannon Airport.

"Shannon has seen some periods of growth and some bad days in the period since but I firmly believe that the airport is now on a much firmer footing than it has been in the past."

However, the announcement from Aer Lingus has been met with anger.

Trade union IMPACT condemned the move and said it was an act of "wanton destruction" on the worker's pay.

It vowed to fight the decision which it said is completely unnecessary. Cabin crew are to begin balloting for industrial action with the ballot due to be finished by October 30.

The union said its members will fight the decision and said the action of Aer Lingus management was entirely unnecessary.

It said cabin crew are balloting for industrial action with the ballot due to be completed on 30 October.

Aer Lingus has said it is not commercially viable for them to keep a short haul crew in Shannon Airport, but stressed there would be no reduction in its schedule or fleet.

A 30-day consultation period with the unions is now set to begin.