14 November 2017
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Yes, people do use Cork Airport, but any casual survey of ones friends will quickly reveal that many, many people happily travel to Dublin, or Shannon Airports daily.
Why? there are a multitude of reasons: more destinations, more frequent flights, and (depending on the airline) cheaper fares, but is there is another reason. One Cork political figure believes there is, and it’s Travel agents.
Today, Labour Party Local Area Representative (essentially a Councillor in waiting) in Cork, Peter Horgan, challenged Cork based travel agents to account for their poor promotion of Cork Airport for travellers.
Peter Horgan (Labour)
“More and more, I am coming across situations where Travel Agents are pushing Dublin or Shannon airports,” said Mr Horgan.
“We have an international airport on our doorstep that links into three world hubs – London, Manchester and Amsterdam. Yet I continue to hear anecdotal evidence, and have experienced it myself when looking to book trips, that Cork is not even a consideration for many agents. You have to actively ask for Cork airport as a final destination. If we are to see Cork Airport grow and gain new routes, we need to support it, but it’s quite hard to support when the industry itself doesn’t!”
