The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
The magic of Christmas will come alive in the skies over Shannon for 3,000 lucky children.
Ryanair, with the support of Shannon Airport, have decided to spread the Christmas cheer in an initiative to celebrate the recent agreement between the parties by offering free flights to meet Santa over the next two weekends.
The initiative also celebrates Shannon’s first year as an independent entity, a year which has seen it make significant advances across a number of fronts, including stabilising passenger numbers and moving to growth mode for 2014.
The free flights will operate on Saturdays and Sundays over this and the following weekend from Shannon Airport six times daily for 40 minutes each – enough time for the flights to get sufficiently airborne for Santa to jump on board from his sleigh and spread the festive cheer among the excited young passengers.
The magical one-off opportunity will enable many children not alone to meet Santa some 15,000ft above sea level but also, in many cases, enjoy the magic of their first ever flight. Tickets are being allocated on a first-come-first serve basis.
Seats can be booked on the Shannon Airport web site www.shannonairport.ie or by phone on 061 712093/712094. For children aged between 0-10 there must be a minimum of one adult accompanying every three children.
Said Shannon Group Chairman Rose Hynes: “We are delighted to be able to work with Ryanair to make this magic happen at Shannon Airport, especially given the season that’s in it, over the next two weekends. This is to a large degree about us celebrating a great start to life as an independent entity and our new deal with
Ryanair but it is also about putting a smile on the faces of young people across the region.
“This is going to be one of the best Christmas gifts of the year so we are expecting a very busy few days processing requests as we will no doubt be inundated with people looking to have their children on these special flights.”
