Irish airline Aer Lingus has announced that it intends to leave its base at Shannon airport in Ireland for good. A difficult decision, the result of severe financial difficulties. As a reminder, the company with the green clover was severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, grounding its aircraft since April 2020. It is estimated that the Irish company will have lost more than 361 million euros in 2020, and 103 million in the first quarter of 2021. This disaster forced Aer Lingus to cut costs by leaving its Shannon base.
The announcement was made on Tuesday evening, and sent shockwaves through the Irish air transport sector. Aer Lingus, will be forced to give up its positions at an airport that is extremely popular with Irish people and tourists…
And this will not be without consequences. For example, an estimated 81 cabin crew have already been offered a severance package or a transfer to Dublin airport. A further 45 ground staff will be made redundant.
This decision is also likely to have an impact on foreign travelers wishing to visit Ireland. Many used Aer Lingus to connect with the west of Ireland. Shannon airport is an attractive base for tourists wishing to avoid Cork and Dublin airports, and avoid unnecessary car journeys to reach their destination.
But rest assured: although the pandemic has clearly weakened an Irish aviation colossus, Aer Lingus is counting on restructuring to revive its sector. It won’t be without a bang, and there are likely to be plenty of redundancies in 2021… But, according to the company, this will be a necessary evil before returning to full economic bloom.
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