Some 25 airports in mainland Europe . . . in countries such as Spain, France, Belgium, Germany, Portugal, Poland, Italy and Latvia . . .are now accessible from Shannon. There are also flights to seven North American airports . . .Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York JFK, Newark and, in the summertime, Toronto and Philadelphia.

Twelve airports in the UK also have flights from Shannon, although this will be reduced to 11 from January when the Heathrow service stops.

While airport users travelling from Shannon to London, the US and Europe are currently well served, the loss of the Heathrow route creates a gap for those passengers, particularly business passengers, connecting to destinations in Asia, Australia and South Africa. The four major hub airports in Europe are Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Schiphol in Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London Heathrow.

It is believed the Shannon Airport Authority is exploring the option of attracting an airline to fly from Shannon to one of the other three hub airports. With Ryanair currently flying to Paris Beauvais and Dusseldorf airport in Germany, it may be difficult to persuade another airline to fly to Charles de Gaulle or Frankfurt.

However, the possibility of developing a service between Shannon and Schiphol airport in Amsterdam . . . an attractive destination in its own right and currently unserved . . . is likely to be closely explored in the coming weeks.