Minister Varadkar welcomes new route from Dublin to Washington

Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar has today (Tuesday) welcomed the decision by American carrier United Continental to open a new daily route from Dublin to Washington Dulles Airport from June 2012.

“This is great news for Irish tourism as well as for Irish passengers, for Dublin Airport and for the wider economy. It will also have clear benefits for business and political links with the US, and is a very welcome development in terms of improving Ireland’s connectivity with the United States.

“The new route will provide a new stimulus for tourism from the US, which remains one of our key markets for inward tourism. It will help us to build on the strong performance in visit numbers from North America, which are up over 12% so far in 2011.

“The new route will also be included in the Government’s €9 million winter marketing programme which is currently underway, overseen by Tourism Ireland.

“The route will provide greater ease of access to Ireland for business and leisure travellers from the Washington metropolitan area, an important target market for Irish tourism, as well as providing a hub for travellers from the east coast of the United States and beyond.

“United will fly from Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport to Washington’s Dulles International Airport, which is one of its east coast hubs, and to more than 80 onward connecting destinations. The new service will be significant in developing stronger trade links with these regions.

“I am especially pleased to see such a significant service operating out of Terminal 2. I hope it will prove an incentive for other airlines, operating from other destinations, to open up new services to Dublin. I would like to wish United Continental every success with this route.”

Source: Irish Ministry for Transport, Tourism & Sport