An independent report reveals Shannon as Ireland’s best recovered airport

An independent analysis by global aviation publication, Air Service One, reveals Shannon Airport is Ireland’s best recovered airport. The publication recently revealed that in the first nine months of 2023 (January to August) Shannon Airport recorded a 14 per cent increase on 2019 passenger numbers, and 5 per cent increase on 2018 – its previous peak for passenger numbers. 

Air Service One delivers air service development news and data driven analysis to airline network planners and to the air service industry across the globe. 

Commenting on Shannon Airport’s positive results which saw a record 1.34 million passengers welcomed to the airport over the first night months of 2023, the report states; “Comparing the recovery versus 2019 shows other Irish airports have bounced back slower: Cork’s traffic was +5.6 per cent, Knock +1.9 per cent and Dublin +1.2 per cent. Shannon made history in several months so far this year, including August. It was because of strong growth by Ryanair and United Airlines. It will be further helped by the return of Delta Air Lines from New York JFK in 2024 after a five-year absence.” 

The data for the report was collated using Cirium, a programme that uses airline fleet data, aircraft values, travel analytics, flight information and airline schedules to deliver analytics. 

Speaking to Shannon Airport about the report, Air Service One commented, “As the world increasingly returns to normal from the devastating pandemic, it is great to see Shannon Airport leading the way in Ireland. Helped by big Ryanair growth, the airport welcomed 14% more passengers this January-August than in 2019. It is among the best recovered of European airports.” 

This summer Shannon provided services to 33 destinations on over 280 weekly flights with increased frequency on 11 services providing over 370,000 extra seats. Included in these services were six new routes to Liverpool, Porto, Beziers, Naples and Newcastle with Ryanair, and Chicago with United Airlines. While in September, Aer Lingus commenced a new service from Shannon to Paris Charles De Gaulle.

The analysis showed that four carriers (Aer Lingus, United, Ryanair and TUI) operated during the peak summer months of July to August, with Ryanair growing by 70 per cent when compared to the same period in 2019.

Commenting on the report, CEO of The Shannon Airport Group, Mary Considine said, “It is fantastic to see in the Air Service One report that Shannon Airport is Ireland’s best recovered airport. This is another testament to the hard work by our team across the Group, in providing dynamic services to our customers in the region and beyond. We worked extremely hard throughout the pandemic to upgrade our infrastructure and ensure ease of travel for our passengers, particularly after the pandemic, where many were concerned about travelling.  

“We have just recently launched our new service to Paris with Aer Lingus which is a fantastic route to serve the region. Charles De Gaulle is one of Europe’s busiest airports serving 119 countries worldwide. We now look ahead to 2024 and we are committed to growing further. The recent news by Delta Air Lines of the return of its JFK service in May next year, will be another boost for us here in Shannon.”