Ireland West Airport welcomes arrival of inaugural service from Groningen
Ireland West Airport was delighted on Saturday, 7th June, to welcome the inaugural flight from Groningen in the Netherlands to the West of Ireland, operated by the leading Dutch Tour Operator, BBI Travel, and Emerald Airlines. The Emerald Airlines flight touched down at Ireland West Airport at 3:45 pm on Saturday, carrying over 50 Dutch holidaymakers travelling to the West of Ireland for a weeklong holiday.
The weekly service will be operated by Emerald Airlines every Saturday for 13 weeks between June and August 2025. This is a significant boost for tourism in the West of Ireland, as this new service will provide the only current direct access from the Netherlands to the West and Northwest of Ireland for the summer of 2025. Receptions took place in both Groningen and Ireland West Airport to mark the occasion with a welcome party from the airport and region greeting their arrival into the West. Thank you to the Members of the Swinford Comhaltas Group for entertaining the group with some Irish music on their arrival at Ireland West Airport.
BBI Travel specialise in putting together complete travel packages to Scandinavia, Iceland, Canada and Ireland. Commenting after arriving on the first flight into the West of Ireland from Groningen, Henk van der Kooi, owner of BBI Travel, said, “This new connection is a great opportunity for travellers from Northern Netherlands who want to discover the beautiful West of Ireland. With these direct flights, we are responding to the increasing demand for authentic travel experiences, offering our customers a comfortable way to reach one of the most beautiful regions in Ireland.”
Welcoming the arrival of the first flight, Joe Gilmore, Managing Director of Ireland West Airport, added, “We are thrilled to welcome the first flight today from Groningen, full of Dutch tourists arriving direct into the heart of the West of Ireland to holiday in our region. With thousands of Dutch holidaymakers set to utilise this innovative new service this summer, it will be a significant tourism boost for the West and Northwest regions, providing direct access for Dutch visitors to this beautiful area. Tourism Ireland research indicates that 40% of Dutch visitors to Ireland annually visit the West, Northwest, and Midlands regions, and this new service will offer a direct route to the West Coast for summer 2025. We look forward to working with Henk and the team at BBI Travel and Tourism Ireland in supporting this service.
Welcoming the new service, Alice Mansergh, Chief Executive of Tourism Ireland, said: “We are delighted to welcome this new charter service from Groningen to Ireland West Airport Knock, which represents an opportunity to grow holiday visitor numbers from the Netherlands to the Wild Atlantic Way this summer. As an island destination, direct access is critical to tourism growth, so we greatly welcome this new flight. We look forward to continuing our partnerships with BBI Travel, Emerald Airlines and Ireland West Airport Knock to maximise its success.” The new service will operate every Saturday till the end of August. For further information, log onto www.bbi-travel.nl