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New Shannon stopover threat

February 16, 2011

By Staff Reporter

By Ray O’Hanlon

Shannon airport’s status as a trans-Atlantic hub is coming under renewed pressure as the summer peak travel season looms.

And at least one airline is reportedly seeking an end to the Shannon stopover rule before it steps up its service to Ireland.

The Shannon stopover has been a dominating feature of Irish aviation for years. At one point, all flights to Dublin had to land first in Shannon. All flights out of Dublin to the U.S. had to stop in Shannon before undertaking the Atlantic crossover.

The rule was amended a few years ago to allow non-stop flight from U.S. cities to Dublin. But under the so-called 50/50 rule, any non-stop flight into Dublin had to be matched by a separate flight to Shannon.

Delta Airlines, one of the world’s largest carriers, now wants to see an end to the 50/50 requirement, according to a report citing “industry sources” in the Dublin-published Sunday Tribune.

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Delta mothballed its service to Ireland out of Kennedy Airport in New York in the aftermath of Sept. 11.

It still flies from Atlanta to Shannon and Dublin. However, a renewal of the non-stop Dublin service from New York would now appear to depend on the scrapping of the 50/50 requirement.

Such a move rests in the hands of an Irish government, which is facing into a general election.

That would certainly rule out an pre-election initiative, given the intense political sensitivities that come into play over Shannon Airport and its status.

But the Irish government’s power in the matter might be short-lived anyway. A European Union court decision earlier this year set the stage for the EU taking away the right of individual member state governments when it comes to negotiating landing rights for airlines by means of so-called bilateral deals.

An expected future “Open Skies” policy across the Atlantic would allow the airlines far more freedom to choose routes and destinations than is now the case.

The decision by Delta to end its service to Ireland out of New York was only part of the post-9/11 fallout for the Irish tourism and travel industry. Aer Lingus put its services out of Newark and Baltimore/Washington, D.C., on hold in the aftermath of the attack on America. Continental Airlines continues to fly to Ireland out of the New Jersey airport.

It is now being seen as possible that one or both of these on-ice Aer Lingus routes might be started up again in 2003. But there is little or no likelihood of them being renewed this year.

The reduced Aer Lingus and Delta services could result in a hectic scramble for Ireland-bound seats out of U.S. East Coast airports in the months ahead should passenger traffic continue to rebound.

A spokesman for Aer Lingus said that there were indeed positive signs that trans-Atlantic passenger traffic was picking up again.

A call to Delta Airlines had not been returned by presstime.

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