World Travellers

Galway airport was officially opened in 1987 and this year (2008), it celebrates its 21st Birthday. In the last 21 years it has serviced the West of Ireland very well and has doubled its number of passengers. On the 8th of October last year Galway Airport welcomed customer number ‘2 million’ to its terminal. At the moment Aer Arann is Galway Airport’s only airline.

Unfortunately there’s very little public transport available to and from Galway Airport with just a bus service operating once a day from the city centre. There is however an excellent taxi available at the airport.

A very large number of Irish, British and European destinations are serviced by Galway Airport. New destinations were announced this year in January for the following locations; Amsterdam - Schiphol, Bordeaux, Malaga and Faro. Galway Airport provides the business traveller and community with very important access to “Hub” airports including Dublin, Manchester, London Luton and the latest, Amsterdam Schiphol. Galway Airport also provides a daily and weekly schedule for locations in Ireland and the UK.

Galway Airport does not have the facilities or the runway to attract the larger aircrafts used by the many budget airlines such as Easyjet and Ryanair. It has however recently acquired new routes from Aer Arann with very competitive rates.

Aer Arann took to the skies in 1970, its aim was to provide transportation to 1,000 islanders on Inishmore, a little island off the West coast of Ireland. Over the years Aer Arann certainly has done that and expanded to the airline that it is today. In the 1980’s it commenced a service from Galway to Dublin and the many other routes that operate today followed. Aer Arann operates over 600 flights per week and to destinations both national and international and is an extremely popular and customer service oriented airline. It has received numerous awards including The ISO 9000 Quality Award, and Aer Arann received “The Palme D’Or European Regional Airline Award” recently for Excellence in Customer Services. Aer Arann state that they have no hidden extras and offer the following:

No baggage charges for bags under 15kgs.
No check-in fees.
Lowest check-in time in Ireland - 30 minutes on most routes!
No more paper - Free SMS Itineraries sent to your mobile phone.
Allocated seating - no scrums to get your seat!
Complimentary newspaper onboard every flight.
Fly direct to where you want.
Service with a smile.

Galway Airport operates a service to and from the following destinations, via Aer Arann, both national and international:

Dublin
London Luton
Manchester
Newcastle
Lorient
Cardiff
Edinburgh
Belfast City
Southampton
Leeds
Bradford
Amsterdam Schiphol
Bordeaux
Malaga
Faro
Waterford

The past, present and the future of both tourism and general industry in the West of Ireland depends greatly on Galway Airport, and whether you’re visiting on business or pleasure you are assured an excellent standard of service when you arrive or depart at Galway Airport.

Whatever takes you to Ireland West, the stunning views and rugged hills of Connemara, the breathtaking Atlantic views or the colourful and vibrant Galway city, you won’t be disappointed. Galway city, also known as the ‘City of the Tribes’ is famous for its cobbled streets, wonderful little restaurants and cafés, excellent shopping, friendly people and top class accommodation.

By: Mairead Foley

About the Author: