This article is from page 13 of the 2006-12-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 13 JPG
KNOCK airport is set to handle transatlantic flights from next May, a move which could hit Shannon in the pocket.
Scottish airline, Globespan, will be operating six scheduled flights a week through the airport – now known as Ireland West – after finalising a deal with the US Department of Transport in Washington.
Other US airlines which fly into Shannon were made aware of the deal and of the fact that Globespan could be in breach of the Ireland-US bilateral agreements.
They were also made aware that the deadline for lodging objections was last week, but no US airline lodged any such objection.
Ireland West will become one of just three airports in the country to handle scheduled transatlantic flights. On three days flights will operate through the Mayo airport from Glasgow and fly on to Boston.
On the other three days flights originating in Liverpool will stop in Ireland West and then continue to New York.
The announcement comes as Transport Minister, Martin Cullen warned that a set-back in the bi-lateral agreement talks has not bought any extra time for the stopover than the original 18 month transition period originally promised.
“As far as I am concerned, the clock started ticking in October,” he said. Speaking in Brussels, the Minister described the stop-over arrangements as “archaic, outmoded and cosseted”. He warned that the arrangements are blocking at least 22 major new routes between Ireland and the US.
The deal which will allow flights between Ireland West and the US was brokered after the recent visit to Sligo of New York’s mayor, Michael Bloomberg. During his trip, he met the board of directors of Knock airport and subsequently set up meetings with the Department of Transport while adding his voice to the application to sanction the new routes.
Mayo-born New York radio host, Adrian Flannelly spearheaded the initiative.
Two tour operators will be involved in the operation, Crystal Travel from Boston and 1-2 Travel from Cork. When requirements are finalised, prices for the new routes will be decided next month.
Marketing Manager of the airport, Annette Kearney said that they are “very keen to put these routes in place because we know they will be of tremendous benefit not only to the people living in the northwest of Ireland but to their many friends and relatives living in the US. One out of every two people in the region have family and friends in the US.”