25 September 2015
By Bryan T. Smyth
bryan@TheCork.ie
Fine Gael TD for Cork South Central, Jerry Buttimer, has said that the announcement of the first ever transatlantic routes from Cork Airport is great news for the city and county and will be a huge boost for tourism and business throughout the Munster region.
“I’m delighted to hear confirmation by Norwegian Air International Ltd (NAI) today that it plans to operate a direct Cork-Boston service from next May and that it also intends to launch a new Cork-New York service in 2017. A Cork-Barcelona service is also planned from May 2016. The new routes form part of Norwegian’s plans for continued expansion in the UK and Ireland.
“These new routes mean that Cork people will be able to fly direct to Boston next year and to New York the year after. This is something that Cork Airport has been working towards for many years and will be a huge boost for tourism and business in Cork and across Munster.
“The enhanced connectivity will provide business opportunities and increase overseas visitor numbers to the region. Cork has so much to offer to tourists and is a fantastic tourism product. These new routes will help bring in more visitors and more revenue.
“I would like to congratulate everyone at Cork Airport and commend them for securing these new routes. The announcement is a great vote of confidence in the airport and proof that Government policy to create the right conditions to encourage new air services is working. More than 2 million passengers travel through Cork Airport each year. Today’s news of Cork’s new transatlantic services comes in the wake of several other positive route announcements from Cork Airport in recent weeks. CityJet will launch a new 18 times per week service to London City Airport on October 1 and Aer Lingus will launch a new Cork-Dusseldorf route next summer. Aer Lingus has also increased frequency on its Cork Tenerife route for this winter and Flybe has doubled capacity on its new Cardiff service.
“This is a good day for Cork and very welcome news for people across the city and county.”
