Ryanair has delayed the commencement of a new route later this month from Shannon Airport just four weeks after the original announcement was made.
As a result, hundreds of passengers have had their holiday plans thrown into disarray after the airline cancelled their flights.
The airline announced on February 21st last that it planned to fly from Shannon to Girona twice weekly from March 29th until the end of October 2022.
The news was welcomed at the time by Shannon Group CEO Mary Considine who described the announcement as “incredibly positive news for Shannon Airport.”
Ms Considine also said at the time: “We have been working closely with Ryanair to deliver this service and are looking forward to the commencement of it at the end of March.”
Ryanair’s Director of Commercial, Jason McGuinness also said at the time of the announcement, “We are pleased to add this new route to Girona as part of our summer ‘22 schedule from Shannon.”
It has now emerged that passengers who had booked trips from March 29th through April, have had their flights cancelled.
Ryanair confirmed today that “commencement of this route has been postponed until 3rd May due to operational reasons.” The airline didn’t however offer any further explanation for the postponement of the service.
Shannon Airport referred queries on the matter to Ryanair.
Independent TD for Clare Michael McNamara, while welcoming Ryanair’s confirmation that the new service would go ahead in May, said the cancellation of flights was unfair on passengers who were due to travel in less than two weeks’ time in some instances.
Deputy McNamara said: “I am aware of people whose flights to and from Girona were cancelled and they have been unable to rebook until early May. Ryanair has put the postponement of the service down to operational reasons, but we do not know if this is related to the rising price of fuel, a poor uptake of the service, a shortage of available aircraft, or a combination of factors.
I would hope the airline will communicate more clearly with customers on its plans regarding its Shannon services so that disruption to the travel plans of passengers is minimised. International connectivity is critically important to Shannon Airport and I hope the Girona service will commence as soon as possible.”