- Kuwait Airways stopover in Shannon to continue through 2017
- Frequencies of flights doubling, from 3w to 6w from October 31st.
- FAA negotiations taking longer than anticipated
Kuwait Airways are to extend their Kuwait- New York JFK stopover in Shannon through to 2017. This service began in June for a planned four month period, with flights at 3pw. From October 31st this will change to 6pw on the first Kuwait service to an Irish airport.
The stopover was to end in the event of security clearance for Kuwait airport by the FAA but this has taken longer to negotiate than expected.
Pictured upon the arrival of the first Kuwait Airways Boeing 777 at Shannon Airport in June are, from left to right, senior officer Nasser Ismaeel, Captain Tareq Alshugayer, Captain Ahmad Al-Kreebani, Andrew Murphy, Chief Commercial Officer, Shannon Group, and senior 1st officer Abdullah Alali.
Andrew Murphy, Chief Commercial Officer, Shannon Group, said: “This is very good news for Shannon, not alone in that it is additional business for the airport but it illustrates again Shannon’s suitability as a transit stop for long-haul services between the likes of the Middle East and the US but also other east-west routes. Kuwait Airways originally looked at this as a temporary service and we are very encouraged by the fact that they have decided not alone to extend it to February but double frequencies to daily services, except for Sundays. Shannon has an excellent reputation for efficient and quick handling of all transit aircraft, from the smallest to the largest. We see opportunities to grow this side of the business and Kuwait Airways decision to extend and increase frequencies on their service further validates this.”
