United Airlines has announced it is to resume its seasonal Shannon Chicago service from next May.
The airline has announced it will begin a daily service from Shannon on May 26 2023, departing each morning at 9.30am into Chicago's O' Hare international airport, one of the largest hub airports in the US, and one of the busiest in the world.
The airline originally operated a five day service to Chicago O' Hare airport for five years up to 2017, when it was cut due to poor financial performance on the route.
But the resumption of the service is seen as a major boost to Shannon which saw its business cut by 79%, and the loss of 1.37 million passengers as a result of the pandemic.
Shannon airport management said the new service has the capacity to carry an additional 30,000 passengers through Shannon next year, providing additional connectivity and choice for businesses and tourism along the West.
The airline operates a seasonal daily service between Shannon and New York's Newark airport between April and October and which is scheduled to resume on April 8 next year.
Shannon CEO Mary Considine said the announcement by United that they are expanding their Shannon services to Chicago is fantastic news for customers and for staff at the Shannon group.
"Chicago is an important US gateway and is a positive addition to the daily serves we already offer from Shannon to New York, Boston and New Jersey. Our aviation development team have been working hard over the last few years to secure the return of this popular service," she said.
Martina Coogan, United Country Sales Manager Ireland, said they expect another busy summer for international travel in 2023.
"We're proud to offer our customers in the West of Ireland even greater travel choice and the possibility to connect via our US hubs to other destinations across the Americas, " she said.
Chicago's O'Hare airport is one of the busiest hub airports in the US and the 6th busiest in the world.
United Airlines is the largest carrier operating there with 450 scheduled daily flights to over 150 destinations across the US and around the world from its Chicago hub.
