Ireland West Airport Knock were delighted over the weekend to welcome, Europes largest airline, Lufthansa's, inaugural flight from Dusseldorf in Germany..
The new service connects the West and North West of Ireland with Germany, the world's largest outbound market and the third largest source of visitors to the island of Ireland. More than 200,000 Germans visit the West and North West of Ireland every year and they can now avail of direct access to the heart of the West on Lufthansa’s only service to this part of Ireland.
The service which will operate every Saturday till the end of September is a major boost for tourism and business in the region and is expected to bring in the region of 2,000 German tourists generating a spend in excess of €1,000,000 for the West and North West regions
Accompanying passengers on the first flight from Dusseldorf were 6 key journalists from some of Germanys biggest media organisations, who will be taking part in a 3 day familiarisation trip around the West of Ireland to sample all the wonders and attractions the region has to offer.
The arrival of the first flight with Lufthansa coincides with the launch of a new €1m+ overseas joint tourism marketing campaign from the regions to encourage overseas holidaymakers to visit the West and North West of Ireland. The funding has been allocated through Fáilte Ireland, five local authorities (Donegal, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo and Roscommon), Tourism Ireland, the Western Development Commission and Ireland West Airport Knock. The campaigns will be rolled out in the coming weeks in Great Britain, Germany, France and Italy with particular emphasis on promoting the new access to Ireland West Airport Knock from Paris, Barcelona, Milan, Frankfurt and Dusseldorf.
Welcoming passengers off the first flight, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director, Ireland West Airport Knock added “We are absoloutley delighted to welcome the worlds fourth largest airline, Lufthansa, back to the West of Ireland after a ten year absence. This new service is a major vote of confidence for this airport and indeed the wider region and we look forward to welcoming German tourists to this beautiful part of Ireland. and we hope this will be the start of significant expansion by Lufthansa at this airport in the coming years”.
Speaking at the airport, Helen Fyfe, Key Account Manager for Lufthansa in Ireland commented “The introduction of weekly non-stop flights from Dusseldorf to Ireland West Airport Knock reaffirms Lufthansa's commitment to our Irish customers. Our overall passenger growth out of Ireland proves that the vast majority of travellers still want the added value they receive from a full service airline. They know when they book with Lufthansa the price they pay includes the option to check-in online or at the airport, the ability to take a reasonable amount of luggage and they also enjoy good quality food and drink on board the aircraft, with no hidden extra cost. The new service also offers passengers the shortest possible onward connection times to Lufthansa's worldwide network through our developing mini-hub at Dusseldorf.”
Flights from Ireland West Airport Knock to Dusseldorf will depart every Saturday until September 29th. For further airport information log onto www.irelandwestairport.com; and for information on fares and to book flights log onto www.lufthansa.com.
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