Ireland West ceases flights

Ireland West Airport in Knock is to close temporarily from March 30 th as both Aer Lingus and Ryanair suspend operations there. Manager Joe Gilmore in a statement said that like all airports it was experiencing an unprecedented reduction in customer demand for air travel due to the impact of COVID-19 virus.

At present the airport was open and all flights were operating as normal as it continued to help airlines get Irish citizens and those from overseas back home.

“However, passenger numbers have decreased so significantly in recent days that we have had to begin to scale back passenger operations at the airport.

“We have been advised by our airline partners that as of Tuesday 23rd March at midnight, Ryanair will suspend all flights to and from the airport and as of Sunday 29 th March, Aer Lingus will suspend their London Gatwick service to and from the airport.

“Following this confirmation from our airline partners as of Monday 30 th March, airport operations will be temporarily suspended until further notice.

“It is with regret that we have had to place staff on temporary lay-off from Monday 30 th March in order to safeguard the long term future of the airport and the health and welfare of our staff. We anticipate that this ‘ lay off ’ will be a short-term measure and that business can resume as soon as possible,” he said.

We are confident that we can overcome this crisis and that both the airport and region will come back stronger than ever with the support from our communities both here and abroad,” Mr Gilmore added.