County Mayor Cllr. John Paul O ‘Shea who lead a business and tourism delegation to Boston last December to develop partnerships with this key US region and, in anticipation of direct flights between Boston and Cork, has enthusiastically welcomed the progress made on securing this significant opportunity for Cork and the south of Ireland . The County Mayor said “The transatlantic flight connection between Cork and Boston will play a significant role in the future economic and tourism development of our County. This flight along with other future US connections with Cork also has the opportunity for Cork to engage and encourage further partnership with the many diaspora living in the US. I look forward to working with all stakeholders in Cork in making this a reality”.
Council Chief Executive Tim Lucey also welcomed the positive move of the US Department of Transportation which has indicated that there is no legal reason to deny the granting of a licence to facilitate the transatlantic fights by Norwegian Airlines. The County Chief Executive said ” this is a very welcome advancement of the position of the US Department of Transportation and it now looks very likely that the significant level of government and political engagement by supporters of this opportunity will pay dividends for Cork. Having met many political and government leaders in Boston last December, accompanied by the County Mayor Cllr. O’Shea and the Chairman of the Councils Tourism Strategic Policy Cllr. Alan Coleman, it was clear that there is significant support for this airline connection and that that engagement will now lead to a positive outcome. This presents a once off opportunity that when delivered will need to be supported by Cork and the south of Ireland and Cork County Council is ready to play a significant leadership role in conjunction with our stakeholders to maximise the opportunity for business across all sectors in Cork.”
Both County Mayor and Chief Chief Executive added ” We compliment to ongoing work on route development by the DAA and local Airport management out of Cork and in particular we acknowledge the work undertaken on this route by Niall McCarthy, Director, Cork Airport with whom we have worked closely in supporting the progression of this initiative and many others at Cork Airport”.
