Flights from Cork to New York not on agenda for now

DIRECT flights from Cork to New York look unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Officials at Norwegian Air have said it is ‘too soon to say’ whether flights from Cork to Stewart Airport in New York will follow the introduction of flights to Providence, Rhode Island earlier this year.

However, they have insisted that they will continue to ‘assess the possibility’ of all future routes from Cork.

Norwegian’s first flight to Providence departed Cork Airport on July 1. It operated three flights per week for the summer, dropping to two flights per week for the winter months.

The airline reported a positive performance for the summer months, with many flights more than 90% full.

Cork to Stewart International Airport in New York State had been expected to begin in 2018, following the successful launch of the connection between Cork and TF Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island.

However, the route depends on the capability aircraft available.

Speaking earlier this year, Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos said that Cork’s short runway meant that the new Boeing 737/MAX would be required to operate the route due to being more fuel efficient than previous models.

Norwegian started flying the MAX out of Cork to Providence in September.

A spokesperson said it will take time to assess how the aircraft performs before deciding on future routes.

He said: “We will continue to assess the possibility of future new routes once we learn more about the operational capabilities of our brand new aircraft but our immediate focus at Cork is on the airport’s first ever transatlantic routes to Boston-Providence.”

Officials at Cork Airport indicated that they are hopeful that the airline may add further routes in the future but noted that Cork-Providence remains the priority for now.