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New Derry-Dublin flight times
cause uproar
10.06.08
Trouble in the air
for Inishowen commuters
INISHOWEN commuters who fly regularly from Derry to
Dublin for business say a new Aer Arann timetable
will seriously affect their schedules.
Aer Arann has been awarded the new tender to operate
the heavily-subsidised service between City of Derry
Airport and Dublin Airport.
The Irish airline won the Public Service Obligation
(PSO) contract this year and will take over from
current operator Loganair in late July.
The problem for local flyers is that Aer Arann will
fly out of Derry an hour later in the morning than
Loganair. |
Buncrana-based Alison
McBride who is service manager with Ulster Bank,
uses the Derry to Dublin service every week along
with at least ten other regular commuters from
Inishowen.
Their current flight time from Derry is 7.40am but
Aer Arann will not fly out until 8.40am.
"This is causing uproar among the regulars. Flying
out of Derry an hour later will seriously disrupt
people's shedules. We won't land in Dublin until
around 9.30am which realistically means you won't
reach your destination until at least 11am not to
mention what will happen if there are any delays,"
she said. |
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"We'll have to consider
either flying down a day earlier or driving, if
these new times aren't sorted out," she said.
An Aer Arann spokesperson said the main problem lay
with the fact that the Loganair plane was based at
City of Derry Airport while the Aer Arann plane will
be based at Dublin Airport.
"We're bound by the landing slots available to us at
Dublin Airport. We applied for an earlier slot but
couldn't get it," said the spokesperson, who added
that the company would continue to press for an
earlier time slot.
Meanwhile, Senator Cecilia Keaveney is among a
number of local politicians who have been lobbied by
concerned commuters about the flight time change.
While she welcomed the fact that the Aer Arann plane
will be bigger with the capacity to carry 48
passengers, she has been in touch with Aer Arann and
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey in a bid to retain
the earlier time slot. |
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