The Irish Tourism Industry Confederation (ITIC) has published figures showing that Shannon (SNN) was Ireland’s fastest-growing airport over summer 2026, with the highest consecutive growth rate in passenger traffic across May, June, July, and August. Over one million passengers travelled on its 40 routes between May and August this year, a significant 11.5% increase compared with the same period in 2025.
Wild Atlantic Way
SNN is located on the west coast of Ireland in County Clare, 15 miles from the city of Limerick (to the south) and 15 miles from the city of Ennis (to the north). According to the Shannon Chamber website, it is the only airport on the Wild Atlantic Way (a 2,500km coastal route) to offer transatlantic flights.
SNN’s transatlantic network offered five daily United States services during the peak summer season, with a new non-stop Shannon-Toronto service with Air Canada due to commence in 2027.
The SNN Airport group website states that SNN became Ireland’s first transatlantic airport in 1945, with a permanent runway, after earlier 1939 transatlantic flights used a “flying boat terminal” at the Shannon Estuary. The 3,200 metre runway is reported to be the longest in Ireland.
In 1947, SNN opened the world’s first airport duty-free shop. Between the 1940s and 1950s, it was the primary transit stop from the Atlantic, the ‘gateway between Europe and the Americas’, due to most aircraft needing to refuel there. In 1963, John F. Kennedy flew into SNN for his tour of Ireland, and every U.S. president since has visited.
In 2009, SNN’s new U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility for commercial operations made SNN the first airport in Europe to have full U.S. preclearance (immigration) services. In 2010, SNN also became the first airport outside the U.S. to offer CBP to private aircraft.
Other interesting facts include SNN’s world’s largest private collection of diecast model aircraft on display and its status as the first airport to open a sensory room.
Award nominations
Figures from the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO) for 2025 show that SNN handled the third largest number of commercial passengers out of the five major airports in Ireland (2.2 million). Dublin (DUB) handled the most passengers, with 36.4 million, while Cork (ORK) handled 3.4 million.
SNN’s growth and progress this year are reflected in a string of recent awards and nominations in 2026.
In February, the SNN Airport Group won both “Public Sector Organisation of the Year” and “Large Organisation of the Year” at the Ireland Green Awards.
In August, SNN was named a finalist for the “Under 5 Million Passengers” category at the global Route World Awards (recognising route development, airline partnerships and aviation marketing).
In September, SNN was also shortlisted for a “Best in Class – Brand” award for its new brand campaign “The Best Place to Fly From” at the Irish Digital Media Awards.
SNN has also been nominated in the “Green Impact” and “Passenger Experience” categories at the Irish Aviation Industry Awards. SNN’s sustainability achievements include launching Ireland’s on-airport solar photovoltaic (PV) farm. SNN Airport Director Niall Kearns expressed being “delighted” at these latest award nominations, reflecting SNN’s priorities.
Have you ever flown to or from Shannon, or do you fly regularly to or from the fast-growing, award-winning Airport? Let us know in the comments below.
