Aer Arann to Drop Domestic Irish Links

Irish regional carrier Aer Arann has confirmed that it will suspend three of its domestic routes from July after a state subsidy supporting these services is withdrawn. Operations on the Public Service Obligation (PSO) links from Dublin to Galway, Knock and Sligo will all end on July 21 with the airline deeming them to be no longer financial viable without the support.

Aer Arann currently offers up to three flights a day between Dublin and Galway, two a day from the capital to Sligo and a daily connection to Knock and carried approximately 49,000, 26,000 and 12,000 O&D passengers on these three routes in the past year, respectively.

The carrier will continue to offer services from Galway with links to Edinburgh, London Southend and Waterford, however, it will now no longer serve Knock or Sligo. Knock has a number of scheduled links with Aer Lingus, bmibaby and Ryanair but Sligo has no other commercial flights. The management of the airport is now working with the Department of Transport to secure some form of financial aid to establish new air services.

Schedule:

Dublin – Galway
RE231 DUB0750 – 0835GWY AT7 67
RE231 DUB0840 – 0925GWY AT4 x67
RE233 DUB1300 – 1345GWY D38 D
RE237 DUB1910 – 1955GWY AT4 D
RE232 GWY0725 – 0810DUB AT4 x67
RE232 GWY0900 – 0945DUB AT7 67
RE234 GWY1415 – 1500DUB D38 D
RE236 GWY1720 – 1805DUB AT4 D

Dublin – Knock
RE220 NOC0715 – 0800DUB D38 x7
RE220 NOC0900 – 0945DUB D38 7

Dublin – Sligo
RE211 DUB0735 – 0825SXL AT7 x67
RE211 DUB1015 – 1105SXL EQV 67
RE217 DUB1600 – 1640SXL D38 7
RE217 DUB1630 – 1715SXL AT4 6
RE217 DUB1705 – 1750SXL AT4 x67
RE212 SXL0850 – 0935DUB AT7 x67
RE212 SXL1130 – 1215DUB EQV 67
RE218 SXL1705 – 1750DUB D38 7
RE218 SXL1735 – 1820DUB AT4 6
RE218 SXL1815 – 1900DUB AT4 x67

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NOTE: Schedule data extracted from Flightbase for week commencing April 14, 2011; Traffic data extracted from IATA BSP system for the year ending January 2011.