Despite soaring passenger numbers at Dublin, Cork, Kerry and Knock airports during the first six months of 2017, new figures released by the Central Statistics Office reveal that terminal traffic at Shannon airport decreased in H1 of this year.
As reported by clare.fm, the CSO data indicates that a total of 726,724 travellers passed through Shannon airport between January and June, representing a 5% decline in passenger numbers compared to the same period last year.
It was also revealed that 26,700 fewer people arrived to or departed from the airport between April and June, resulting in a 5.5% decrease on Q2 of 2016, during which passenger numbers for Shannon actually increased.
"Shannon Airport's passenger numbers for the period covered by the CSO's quarterly bulletin (April - June) are on a par with last year," said a statement from Shannon Airport spokesperson.
"While there was a decrease in terminal traffic due to a reduction in Stansted services, this was negated by an increase in transit passengers, which are not recorded in CSO figures.
"Beyond that, the summer season this year has been very positive for Shannon, with a 16% increase in capacity overall compared to the same period last year. The gains included two new Norwegian Air International services to the US (Orange County, New York and Providence, Rhode Island) from July, a Lufthansa service to Frankfurt and Scandanavian Airlines flights to Stockholm. We are also in ongoing conversations with a number of airlines and look forward to further gains in 2018," the spokesperson added.
