FLY FROM BRANDON TO BRANDENBURG GATE

IN a development which should provide a major boost to tourism in the county, Ryanair has announced plans to introduce direct flights between Kerry and Berlin next winter.

The flights – which will link Farranfore and Schönefeld airport 20 kilometres southeast of Berlin – are due to commence in November.

Schönefeld, located in Brandenburg, is Berlin’s second airport and was previously the main civilian airport in East Germany.

The twice weekly service was announced last week as part of Ryanair’s Kerry Winter 2017 schedule. The full details of the Kerry Berlin flights – including their exact scheduling and price – is expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

At present, Germany is Ireland’s leading continental European tourist market and has been growing steadily in recent years. In 2015, 630,000 Germans visited Ireland, an increase of 13 per cent on the previous year.

While full figures for 2016 are not yet available, Tourism Ireland had predicted a further seven per cent jump in German visitors last year.

Meanwhile, Ireland South MEP Deirdre Clune has welcomed the comments by White House Press spokesperson Sean Spicer that indicate that President Trump’s administration will look favourably on low cost airline Norwegian Air’s application to fly from Cork and Shannon to the US.

If the airline’s plan is approved, it would provide another significant boost to tourism across the south and mid west.

“For every 10,000 passengers that come through an airport, it has been shown to create 12 full-time local jobs and numerous other indirect jobs. These new flights will open up new avenues for tourism from the East coast of the US,” said Clune.