Press Releases

City Of Derry Airport Expects Passenger Boom This Christmas

Thursday, 21 December 2006

City of Derry airport expects passenger numbers to soar over the Christmas weekend with a predicted increase of 75%. An extra 9,000 people are expected to use the airport this Christmas and the massive increase is being attributed to the number of routes operating from the facility - London Stansted; Liverpool; East Midlands; Glasgow; Dublin; and the new route which commenced this week - Glasgow Prestwick.

Explaining why the airport is preparing for much an increase, the airport manager Seamus Devine said:

“We are adding new routes to the airport all the time. Earlier this month we launched our new Glasgow Prestwick route which is proving extremely popular. Christmas is one of the busiest times in the airport year with people coming home for the festive season.

“Flights are also very busy just after Christmas with students returning to university and people returning to work. We are expecting a huge increase in footfall compared with last year and we look forward to welcoming people to the city and looking after them as they prepare to fly out again.”

Outgoing passengers are asked to make sure they allow plenty of time to check-in and to take into account any adverse weather conditions, such as the recent fog, which may make travelling to and from the airport more difficult.

Between 19th December 2005 and 8th January 2006 12,000 passengers used City of Derry airport. That number is expected to swell to 21,000 for the same period this year.

With City of Derry airport expect to be busier than usual over the Christmas and New Year holiday period, passengers are urged to keep up to date with the latest arrival and departure times by checking on the Airport website, www.cityofderryairport.com

The airport manager has advised passengers to carefully plan their journey and made allowances for traffic delays and adverse weather conditions when travelling. He added that the public should also be mindful of the new security measures that are in place.

“People should remember to give themselves enough time so that they arrive at the airport and adhere to the airline recommendation of checking-in at least two hours before departure.”

Welcoming passengers using City of Derry airport, the chairman of the Airport Committee, Councillor Joe Miller said:

“On behalf of the City of Derry Airport I would like to thank everyone who’s chosen to fly using our Airport over the past year. I would also like to wish all our staff and customers a very Happy Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. We look forward to serving you in 2007.”

Ends

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