Long-haul Traffic
The DAA (Dublin Airport Authority) has ambitious long-haul expansion plans and has successfully added new routes to North America and the Middle East in recent years. It has yet to secure a direct route to East Asia. Like most airports, the effects of the September 11, 2001 attacks affected transatlantic traffic but this has since recovered to record levels.
In 2005 Gulf Air launched a direct route to Bahrain in the Middle East. This was followed by Aer Lingus's service to Dubai in March 2006, and Etihad Airways service to Abu Dhabi in July 2007. Despite reportedly high loads, the Gulf Air service to Bahrain was cancelled in July 2007 as part of a broad restructuring plan of the airline. This move prompted Etihad Airways to bring forward the start date of its Abu Dhabi service by a number of months, and Etihad's Dublin route has proved to be a success with further frequencies planned. The DAA announced as far back as the late 1990s that it would like to add a route to East Asia, however this has yet to materialise and Aer Lingus's poorly performing route to Dubai was dropped at the end of March 2008., however the introduction of services to Asia remains part of Aer Lingus' long term plans. Both Etihad Airways and Emirates provide direct service to the Gulf area with routes to Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively.
In February 2010, United Arab Emirates airline Etihad Airways announced an increase in services to Dublin from Abu Dhabi which means that from 28 March 2010 twice-daily flights are available on Thursdays, Saturdays & Sundays with a once-daily service on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
In September 2010, US Airways announced that it will commence daily direct services from Dublin to Charlotte in North Carolina from May 2011. It will be a summer seasonal route running until September.
In September 2011, Emirates announced that from 9 January 2012 it would begin a new daily direct service to Dubai, which will be year-round and will operate from the new Terminal 2.
On June 8, 2012, United Airlines commenced a new daily service to Washington DC (Dulles), also to operate from Terminal 2.
On October 24, 2012, American Airlines announced a new daily year-round service to New York-JFK beginning June 13, 2013 and subject to government approval. It will be the carrier's second service from the airport, with the other being its seasonal route between Dublin and Chicago O'Hare.
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Famous quotes containing the word traffic:
“There’s something about the dead silence of an office building at night. Not quite real. The traffic down below is something that didn’t have anything to do with me.”
—John Paxton (1911–1985)