An Ennis-based travel counsellor says new COVID testing rules for aviation mean less people in this county are taking Christmas trips away.
It comes after the Chair of Shannon Group expressed concern about new advice for those travelling between the UK and Ireland.
The government is now advising everyone coming from Britain to take an antigen test for five days after arrival.
Anyone outside of the Common Travel Area, travelling across the water must provide a negative PCR test two days before they do so, while returning to Ireland requires either a PCR test 72 hours ahead of travel or a negative antigen 48 hours beforehand.
The measures are in place regardless of vaccination status and have led to concerns about other possible limits on travel as the Omicron variant takes hold.
Ennis-based Travel Counsellor Gearoid Mannion says bookings remain significantly below previous years.
Meanwhile, Shannon Group’s Chairperson says ‘fruitful and progressive’ discussions remain ongoing to add more routes to Shannon Airport’s portfolio.
It comes after Padraig O’Ceidigh met with Transport Minister Eamon Ryan on Friday to thrash out medium to long term priorities for the Midwest facility.
The former Senator and Aer Arann founder has told Clare FM current travel rules, particularly between the UK and Ireland which contain vital strategic routes for Shannon, are ‘a significant concern’.
He’s calling for ‘proper alignment’ between countries going into 2022.
However, Padraig O’Ceidigh says ‘fruitful and progressive’ discussions remain ongoing to add more routes to Shannon Airport’s portfolio for next year despite the new rules.
