End of Shannon stopover

Summary

It was never really efficient that wide-bodied jets would take to the sky in Dublin, and then make a brief stop at Shannon Airport near Ireland’s west coast, where Aer Lingus aircraft would share space on the tarmac with planes in Aeroflot or Cubana livery. Now it looks as though the Shannon stopover is being consigned to aviation history.

hidden europe 64 / Snippet / By hidden europe

The airport at Shannon in County Clare has a singular place in the history of Irish civil aviation. It played a pioneering role in the development of transatlantic flights. It was at Shannon in 1947 that the notion of duty free sales for passengers on international flights was introduced, so creating a fiscal loophole that governments have rued ever since.

Shannon has geography on its side. Close to Ireland’s west coast, it’s always been a good jumping-off point for flights to North America. It was thus much valued in the pre-jet era when aircraft range was so much shorter than today. Many itineraries paired Shannon with Gander in Newfoundland to give the shortest possible oceanic sector.

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Editorial hidden europe 64
Editorial

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End of Shannon stopover
Snippet

By hidden europe

It was never really efficient that wide-bodied jets would take to the sky in Dublin, and then make a brief stop at Shannon Airport near Ireland’s west coast, where Aer Lingus aircraft would share space on the tarmac with planes in Aeroflot or Cubana livery. Now it looks as though the Shannon stopover is being consigned to aviation history.

Read on
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Snippet

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Snippet

By hidden europe

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Snippet

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Preview hidden europe 65
Preview

By hidden europe

A preview of hidden europe 65 which will be published on 15 November 2021.

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hidden europe 64

End of Shannon stopover

Summary

Editorial

Feature

Feature

Feature

Feature

Communities

Special spaces

Museums

People

Flightscan

Railscan

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Snippet

Preview

Flint country: stories set in stone

Coffee in Trieste: the joy of railway stations

Cultural border zones