Airport in talks with other carriers

Cork Airport management are in discussions with a number of carriers, it was claimed, as news emerged this week of Norwegian’s decision to discontinue its transatlantic flights. 

The news was announced on Tuesday with Cork Airport Managing Director, Niall MacCarthy describing it as a disappointing.

“Cork Airport is the fastest growing airport on the island of Ireland this year with eight new UK and continental European routes. We expect further growth next year on short haul services to and from Cork. We will redouble our efforts to secure a new transatlantic carrier for Cork to operate from summer 2021 and we are in active discussions with a number of carriers in this regard,” he added.

Norwegian said that it conducted a “comprehensive review” of its transatlantic operations between Ireland and North America and considering the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, it came to the decision that these routes are no longer commercially viable.

Matthew Wood, SVP Long-Haul Commercial at Norwegian said: “We take a strict approach to route management and constantly evaluate route performance to ensure we meet customer demand. Compounded by the global grounding of the 737 MAX and the continued uncertainty of its return to service, this has led us to make the difficult decision to discontinue all six routes from Cork, Dublin and Shannon to the US and Canada from 15 September. We have sought to minimise the impact on customers by hiring replacement aircraft to operate services.

“However, as the return to service date for the 737 MAX remains uncertain, this solution is unsustainable. We are assisting customers by rerouting them onto other Norwegian services. Customers will also be offered a full refund if they no longer wish to travel,” he said.