Cork Airport is currently in talks for making ongoing direct flights to New York a new reality.
Cork Airport has recently confirmed that they are officially in the process of talks with various airline operators to open a direct flight route to New York potentially.
According to DAA plc, previously Dublin Airport Authority, which is the managing body that runs both Cork and Dublin airports, there is hope that such a route could be operational within the next three years.
Cork Airport – the second-largest airport in Ireland
Cork Airport is the second largest of Ireland’s three main international airports, ahead of Shannon Airport and after Dublin Airport.
The airport is conveniently located in Cork City, just under 7 km (4.3 miles) south of the city centre. It sits in an area known as Farmers Cross.
Cork Airport recently submitted to the Irish government’s ‘mid-term review’ of regional airports. This review looks at establishing a direct flight link to the United States.
Opening a new route – a medium-term project
It was confirmed by a spokesperson for DAA plc that Cork Airport is still ongoing in talks with a variety of airlines regarding potentially opening the new route to New York.
The spokesperson described it as a medium-term project that will take approximately three years to come to fruition.
“Whilst Cork is well serviced in European route terms, our hinterland has identified demand for transatlantic services, primarily Cork – New York.
“We are in dialogue with airlines and continue to pursue that on commercial grounds,” the spokesperson revealed.
The poll conducted by Cork Chamber – revealed a considerable level of support for direct flights to Cork
Earlier in the year, a poll amongst Cork Chamber members resulted in some interesting findings. For example, the discovery of New York as the most in-demand new direct route for Cork Airport.
This survey of Cork Chamber members was developed in cooperation with Cork Airport itself and asked businesses about what their main current travel patterns were and what would their future route preferences be.
An overwhelming 86% of businesses in the survey stated that the issue of direct air access to Cork Airport was of crucial importance for their overseas colleagues who wished to travel to their Cork offices.
Another interesting finding from the survey was that 75% of all long-haul flights taken by businesses out of Cork chose New York as their most desired destination.
Conor Healy, the CEO of Cork Chamber, described the survey results as “undeniable”. He said that international connectivity is “of critical importance to business activity in Cork”. This includes the FDI sector, indigenous enterprise, and tourism.
“While this has been recognized with the introduction of several new routes last year, further routes to key business locations will be required to support continued economic growth in the Cork region,” he continued.
