Shannon Airport traffic increases 7% in first six months of 2025
Chief executive of the Shannon Airport Group Mary Considine said the airport was proud of the strong growth in the first half of the year. The latest growth comes on the heels of a strong 2024, when the airport hit a 15 year high with more than 2.1 million passengers passing through its doors. It was also the first time since 2009 that the airport has broken the 2 million passenger barrier.
But she called on the Government to support further growth at the airport through national policy.
'As we continue to deliver strong growth and expand our international reach, it's vital that the new National Aviation Policy recognises the strategic importance of Shannon Airport,' she said. 'With the right policy support, we can unlock even greater connectivity, drive regional economic development, and ensure balanced growth across the country.'
READ MORE
Shannon Airport currently serves 12 countries with 38 routes. The airport is expecting further growth in the second half of the year. Ryanair recently announced it would base a fourth aircraft at Shannon and add three new routes to Lapland, Madeira, and Madrid. It has also increased the frequencies of six existing services.
The airport has seen a €30 million investment programme implemented across the airport and Shannon Airport Business Park, including the provision of 1,000 new car parking spaces head of the summer season. The airport has also committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 51 per cent by 2030 with a view to reaching net zero by 2050.
The airport has asked the Government to consider a 'high speed bus network' for the Shannon catchment area in a bid to draw traffic from Dublin Airport amid a debate over Dublin's 32 million annual passenger cap.
Ms Considine has previously pitched the airport as part of the solution to relieving pressure on Dublin Airport, pointing out the 'under utilised airport capacity' in the other airports in the country.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
12 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Donegal credit union fined for breaching money laundering laws
Donegal based credit union Swilly Mulroy has been fined by the Central Bank after breaching money laundering laws. The credit union was issued with a fine of €36,273 for breaching requirements of the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act 2010 (the 2010 Act) and the Credit Union Act 1997 (the 1997 Act). The 2010 Act requires firms to put in place safeguards against the risk of money laundering, while the 1997 Act requires credit unions to develop and implement risk management systems to monitor and manage risks. The Central Bank's investigation found that Swilly Mulroy operated a practice of soliciting and accepting cash from depositors who did not hold accounts with the credit union. READ MORE 'This money would then be electronically transferred to a branch of a local bank, without first being deposited in an account in the customer's name at Swilly Mulroy,' the Central Bank said. 'As a result, Swilly Mulroy failed to conduct the necessary anti-money laundering checks on the depositors and the transactions. 'This specific cash intensive practice had been flagged to the credit union sector as presenting a heightened money laundering risk.' The investigation found that Swilly Mulroy operated in this way between January 2nd, 2014, and June 30th, 2021, during which time it processed €8,751,694 in deposits from 2,329 cash lodgements. The regulator said the board of Swilly Mulroy was 'aware of the risks associated with the practice from 2015 but failed to act on its risk management obligations under the 1997 Act'. A new management team ceased the practice in 2021 and subsequently brought it to the attention of the board. The issue was not brought to the Central Bank's attention but was discovered in 2022 during an inspection by the Central Bank's anti-money laundering division. The Central Bank commenced the enforcement investigation in 2023. The investigation yielded multiple examples of cash lodgements, which in the usual course should have triggered additional and careful scrutiny but instead were processed without any anti-money laundering checks. 'Swilly Mulroy has therefore breached multiple requirements of the 2010 Act,' the Central Bank said.' Swilly Mulroy has admitted the breaches and has agreed to the facts as set out by the Central Bank. As part of the settlement agreement reached between the Central Bank and Swilly Mulroy, it was determined that sanctions comprising a reprimand and monetary penalty in the amount of €51,819 was 'both warranted and proportionate to the size of the firm'. However, the application of a 30 per cent settlement scheme brought the amount down to €36,273. The sanctions have been accepted by Swilly Mulroy, although they are subject to confirmation by the High Court. The credit union was contacted for comment.
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Apprenticeship pay a big problem for hitting construction targets, Ictu congress told
Sub-minimum wage rates for apprentices in the first years of their training continues to deter recruits to trades vital to the delivery of housing and infrastructure critical to the future economic prosperity of the country, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu) biennial conference in Belfast heard on Wednesday. The conference backed a motion from the Connect trade union calling for the application of the National Minimum Wage to all apprentices. The union's Stephen Murphy said the average age of first year apprentices in building trades had steadily increased over the years and many now had significant financial obligations. Many were struggling, he said, while many more prospective apprentices couldn't afford to pursue their chosen career because they faced the prospect of earning about €7 an hour, or in some case less, under the terms of current regulations. According to research previously carried out by the union and CSO figures, the average age for starting an apprenticeship in the construction industry is 21, 13 per cent of those doing the apprenticeships have at least one child, 46 per cent are renting and 5 per cent will have a mortgage. READ MORE New pay rates for apprentices due to come into effect at the end of this month, start at €7.66 per hour, and it is year three of an apprenticeship before pay exceeds the current National Minimum Wage of €13.50 per hour. 'This is a huge challenge for the country,' said Connect general secretary Paddy Kavanagh. 'There's 80,000 skilled workers required to meet the current demands in housing, 80,000 new workers skilled, craft workers to to meet requirements in housing and infrastructure projects. 'How are we going to get them? It's not a question of bringing them in from other jurisdictions, because the apprenticeship standards don't match, so we have to train them in Ireland. The only way to do that is to make it attractive for people to become apprentices.' Mr Kavanagh said many employers in the sector agree pay rates should start with the National Minimum Wage as a baseline but say legislation is required as they would put themselves at a competitive disadvantage if they were to apply them unilaterally. The conference also backed a motion from Connect that called for the €600 figure on which statutory redundancy is calculated to be brought up to €1,015 in order to align it with average weekly wages. The union said Micheál Martin had overseen the introduction of the process and setting of the €600 figure as minister for enterprise 21 years ago when the understanding had been it would be regularly updated but this had never happened. It is time to do that, said Connect's Brian Nolan. Mick Nerney of the Financial Services Union said those facing redundancy need 'fairness and protection at a time they are struggling' while Siptu's Neil McGowan said thousands of private sector workers are set to be displaced by AI and the stature redundancy regulations would contribute to the financial hardship they would endure as a result. 'It is,' he said, 'a pressing issue for the union movement'. The conference also backed a move to establish a working group at the operation of the Workplace Relations Commission code on the right to request remote working. The code, which came into effect last year, and is due to be reviewed in 2026, does not require employers to grant remote or hybrid working but regulates how requests have to be considered. It has been repeatedly criticised by unions and those who had requests rejected as a box ticking exercise for employers. 'It is clear the legislation doesn't favour workers,' said Carol Scheffer of the Communication Workers Union. 'We need to look for a better code of practice.'
Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Microsoft to cut some Irish jobs in global cost-reduction push
Microsoft began its third round of job cuts this year across its global operations on Wednesday as it looks to shed an additional 9,000 workers, including some in Ireland, in a bid to control costs. The software company declined to comment on how many jobs would be affected in Ireland, where it employs some 6,000 people. Bloomberg reported previously that Microsoft planned to announce cuts of around 4 per cent of its global workforce in July, amounting to around 9,000 of its 228,000 staff. If applied uniformly to Ireland, it means some 240 jobs could be on the firing line in the Republic. READ MORE In response to queries, a spokeswoman for Microsoft Ireland said: 'We continue to implement organisational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic market.' Bloomberg reported that the cuts will be spread across geographies and target salespeople, as well as divisions including Xbox. [ Microsoft cost-cutting at gaming subsidiary resulted in almost 130 job losses in Cork Opens in new window ] The terminations follow an earlier round of lay-offs in May that hit 6,000 people and fell hardest on product and engineering positions. Microsoft also shed around 1,000 jobs in January. Microsoft often restructures teams and announces other changes near the end of its fiscal year, which closes in June. – Additional reporting: Bloomberg
