Call for return of Gatwick to Knock flights

WHEN Ireland West Airport began offering flights to London Heathrow with Aer Lingus in March it was seen as another milestone in the transport facility’s evolution. The announcement was met with much fanfare, as it connected Knock to worldwide destinations and dangled the possibility of attracting more visitors to Mayo.

However, with Aer Lingus deciding to drop its Gatwick service in favour of Heathrow, it resulted in major headaches for many people living south of London who regularly used the Gatwick service to Knock.

David Witham and his wife, Maureen, are among them. They say they had to abandon using Knock because of the move to Heathrow.

The retired couple have a home in Newport close to Maureen’s family in Achill and for the last ten years they considered himself loyal Aer Lingus customers, flying regularly between Gatwick and Knock.

However, since March, they have decided to use the Ryanair service from Gatwick to Shannon due to the ‘nightmare’ involved in getting to Heathrow from their West Sussex home.

“Heathrow is a total nightmare; I would rather drive the two hours from Shannon on good roads to Newport than having to undergo the stress of travelling along the M25 to Heathrow,” David told The Mayo News.

“If I was to catch a flight from Heathrow, I would know we would be travelling on the M23/25 and M4, and I would have to give myself a two- to three-hour window in order for me to drive up and know I will not miss my flight.

“When Gatwick is on your doorstep for the people from Kent and Sussex and Hampshire and even south London, you would not dream of crossing London to get to Heathrow. You would avoid it like the plague.”

‘Devastated’

Before his retirement, David worked as Carlson Wagonlit Travel vice president of worldwide hotel and car relations. He is well used to travelling to airports and flying, he said.

He explained that the M25 ring road of London is a nightmare to travel on and a recent journey lasted two hours when it should only take 45 minutes.

“The stress of having to get up there in the knowledge you don’t know if the motorway is blocked. There is something going on everyday on that motorway. It is so busy that there is always something. It is just not worth the stress at the start of a holiday,” he said.

Both David and Maureen said they miss the convenience of flying into Knock and travelling down to Newport.

“I was devastated when I heard Aer Lingus were moving flights from Gatwick to Heathrow,” Maureen said. “It is such a shame for us and a lot of people south of London because Heathrow is not an airport anyone would choose to fly in or out of if they had a choice. We would prefer to drive to Holyhead and get the ferry and drive to Mayo than we would to drive to Heathrow. That will tell you how bad it is.

“It would be brilliant if there was another carrier from Gatwick to Knock. We love Knock and come over regularly and it would be great for us and makes for an easy journey,” she said.

A spokesperson for Ireland West Airport Knock said the airport is actively trying to secure an airline replacement for the Gatwick route but this was a decision for the airlines and the airport has no control over it.

“We appreciate the popularity of the Gatwick service and would be hopeful in the future of an airline coming in to operate the service. In the meantime we have 26 weekly flights to three different UK airports in Heathrow, Luton and Stansted and have never had as much capacity into the London market as well as the onward connectivity the Heathrow service offers,” the spokesperson said while adding that Heathrow service has been performing well.