Cork Airport is expecting almost 100,000 passengers this Easter weekend, and launched its 2018 summer schedule, with almost 2m seats now available to over 40 destinations.
The airport is forecasting a 5pc growth in passenger numbers over the summer, compared to the same period last year. Several summer routes kicked off last weekend, including Aer Lingus’ services to Barcelona and Faro, while Ryanair’s Cork to Faro also commenced along with its Palma de Mallorca offering.
The 2018 summer schedule also sees the commencement of Air France’s new year-round daily Cork to Paris Charles de Gaulle route in May.
More than doubling capacity on its Cork to Zurich service, SWISS will operate 3w while Iberia Express’ Cork to Madrid route will expand to 2w at the start of June. Spanish carrier Volotea operates its Cork-Verona route every Saturday (26 May to 6 October), with an additional flight on Wednesdays during peak season, commencing 27 June.
This is the first full summer season for Norwegian’s non-stop transatlantic flight to Boston Providence. Aer Lingus adds an additional 8,000 seats to and from Cork this summer, expanding its Cork to Heathrow route as well as flying to popular holidays routes such as Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, Alicante, Tenerife, Faro, Rennes, Barcelona, Düsseldorf, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria.
Cork Airport Managing Director Niall MacCarthy
Aer Lingus Regional, operated by Stobart Air, is also increasing its schedule, adding an additional 6pc increase in seat capacity by extending its Newquay, Cornwall, service.
Ryanair’s routes include Faro, Carcassonne and Bordeaux, Girona, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Malaga, Reus, Tenerife and Palma and Milan.
Managing Director Niall MacCarthy said: “Our focus is always to work with our existing and new airlines on how we can grow our route offerings. With the arrival of Air France this summer, along with additional capacity on 15 of our existing routes, there has never been more choice for holidaymakers choosing to fly out of Cork Airport.”
