Shannon Chamber congratulates Shannon Airport on today’s announcement, which marks new departure for Shannon Airport

Wednesday 16^th November 2016: Shannon Airport is set to get its first ever scheduled Lufthansa air service next summer when the airline introduces a new Shannon to Frankfurt route.

The service will operate weekly on Saturday’s from the 29^th April to the 28^th October using an A319 aircraft.

Welcoming the announcement Matthew Thomas, Chief Executive, Shannon Group said: “We are delighted to welcome Lufthansa to Shannon with their first scheduled service. This is a significant milestone for our airport and region by one of the world’s major airlines.

“Germany is Ireland’s third-largest source of visitors and the addition of this new Frankfurt Main service is great news for the Irish tourism industry along the west coast and beyond as Shannon Airport will provide German holidaymakers with a gateway to the heart of the Wild Atlantic Way and Irish holidaymakers with an opportunity to explore a wonderful part of Germany. We look forward to working with the team at Lufthansa and our Irish Tourism industry partners to ensure the success of the new service.”

Said Andreas Köster, Senior Director Sales UK, Ireland and Iceland Lufthansa Group:  “We are very happy to announce this new non-stop flight directly to the heart of Germany. Customers from the Western part of Ireland will travel in in just a bit more than two hours to Frankfurt. It will connect our hub an offer a smooth connection to some intercontinental destinations such as Johannesburg, Hong Kong, Sao Paulo or Singapore.”

Declan Power, Head of Aviation Development, stated:  “With over 60% of the German visitors to Ireland, actually visiting and staying in the Shannon catchment area, we are confident that this new direct service from Frankfurt will be a tremendous success and we look forward to working with Lufthansa in developing and growing this route and other German services over the coming years”.

This is the second new service to be announced at Shannon Airport in just over four weeks. Last month SAS announced a new Stockholm-Shannon service for 2017. The new Frankfurt service reinforces Shannon’s position as the natural gateway for the Wild Atlantic Way and connects Shannon to the financial heartbeat of continental Europe.

Commenting on the significance of the new service Niall Gibbons, CEO of Tourism Ireland, said:

“Tourism Ireland warmly welcomes the announcement by Lufthansa of a new flight from Frankfurt to Shannon, which will certainly expand travel options for German holidaymakers wishing to visit the Wild Atlantic Way and the West of Ireland next summer. We look forward to working closely with Lufthansa and Shannon Airport to maximise the promotion of this new route and to help drive demand for the flight. As an island destination, the importance of convenient, direct, non-stop flights cannot be overstated – they are absolutely critical to achieving growth in inbound tourism.”

Flight Details:

• Operates on Saturday’s from 29th April to 28th October 2017
• Departs Frankfurt Main Airport 15:50 and arrives at Shannon Airport 17:05
• Departs Shannon Airport 17:50 and arrives at Frankfurt Main Airport 21:00

The new service goes on sale today on the Lufthansa website http://www.lufthansa.com

About Lufthansa:

Lufthansa is the largest German airline and, when combined with its subsidiaries, also one of the largest airlines in Europe, both in terms of passengers carried and fleet size. Lufthansa is a Star Alliance member. www.lufthansa.com

About Shannon Airport:

Shannon Airport has direct flights to 35 destinations in 11 countries and is the first airport in the world, outside of the Americas, to offer Full US Preclearance facilities to passengers travelling to the USA. Shannon Airport has just completed major refurbishment work in its terminal building. Next year will mark the 70^th anniversary of Duty Free Shopping which was invented at Shannon Airport in 1947 and is now a multi-billion global industry www.shannonairport.ie

About Frankfurt region:

Frankfurt is a highly populated city in the center of Germany and the financial heartbeat of continental Europe. The densely populated “Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region” is the second largest metropolitan region in Germany. The region consists of a rich cultural landscape, offering everything from national museums, theatres, operas, pulsating nightlife and much more. Frankfurt is an excellent starting point for tours throughout Germany www.frankfurt-tourismus.de