Shannon Airport is celebrating the 60th anniversary of the first commercial transatlantic flight today, against the background of an Open Skies policy being finalised at EU level by Christmas.
An Open Skies market will mean the end of the famous Shannon stopover, under which US carriers were obliged to fly into Shannon for every US flight that went into Dublin.
Transport Minister Martin Cullen is involved in bi-lateral discussions with the United States government to try to win certainties for Shannon in advance of Open Skies.
He wants a soft landing for the airport, under which the stopover would be phased out over a set period of time to allow Shannon to get into a better marketing position.
Shannon passenger figures are heading for three million by the end of the year, the highest ever for the airport which has embarked on an aggressive marketing campaign to win more business.
Its understood that US carriers from over 22 new destinations across the US want to fly into Ireland, but both Shannon and Dublin and Cork would all have to compete for a share of that business in the new Open Skies climate.
