MADRID IS THE LATEST FANTASTIC HOTSPOT AVAILABLE FROM CORK THIS SUMMER

26th November 2015

Iberia Express to fly from Cork to the Heart of Spain from 18th June

Spain’s capital, Madrid is the latest destination that has been added to the bumper summer schedule for 2016 from Cork Airport.

The newest Spanish service from the region will be operated by Iberia’s Group low-cost carrier, Iberia Express, twice-weekly, every Saturday and Wednesday, from Cork Airport. The new service takes off from 18th June and will operate until September ensuring sun seekers from the South will have even more choice this summer. Visitors to the Spanish capital will be able to fly via Madrid to many Iberia Group’s destinations in Spain, such as Alicante, Malaga and Tenerife, Lisbon and Porto in Portugal, Marrakech in Morocco and Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Montevideo, Sao Paulo or Santiago de Chile in Latin America. Anyone planning their summer getaway can book now as tickets are on sale from today at iberia.com.

Flights between Cork and Madrid will be operated by an A320 aircraft with 180 seats in Business and Economy cabins

Niall MacCarthy, Managing Director at Cork Airport said: “This is more fantastic news for passengers from Munster and follows the news earlier this week that Menorca has been added to our bumper summer ’16 schedule. Just like Cork, Madrid is a beautiful city well known for its culture, shopping, sport events, artistic offerings and lively nightlife. It’s also very easy to reach other popular places in Spain from Madrid, right in the heart of the country.”
Silvia Mosquera, Chief Commercial Officer of Iberia Express, commented: “We’re delighted to launch our first ever flights from Cork. Our customers will be able to fly from Cork to Madrid and onto other Iberia destinations at competitive prices. We will also make travel easier from Spain to Cork, which is a very popular destination for both tourists and Spaniards learning English.”

The new Cork – Madrid route is also good news for inbound traffic given the volume of young Spanish students that come to Cork and surrounding counties each year to learn English. MacCarthy added: “Close to 100,000 overseas students come to Ireland every year to learn English so the Cork to Madrid flight will be a very popular and convenient corridor for those planning to study English in the South West.“

Speaking about the new route from Cork Airport, Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland said: “The introduction of this new Iberia Express flight from Madrid to Cork is more good news for Irish tourism in 2016 and will expand travel options for Spanish holidaymakers wishing to visit Cork and the South of Ireland. We look forward to working closely with Iberia Express and Cork Airport to maximise the promotion of the new service. As an island destination, the importance of convenient, direct, non-stop flights cannot be overstated – they are absolutely critical to achieving growth in visitor numbers. Tourism Ireland is committed to working with Iberia Express, Cork Airport and other tourism interests, to drive demand for this new flight and to help maintain our vital network of routes.”

Gonzalo Ceballos, Managing Director of the Spanish Tourism Office in Dublin, commented:
"The new route from Cork to Madrid offers great opportunities to explore Spain. Tourists from the region can enjoy a fantastic city break in Madrid with its wonderful cultural and gastronomic offering as well as the opportunity to visit the nearby heritage cities of Avila, Toledo and Segovia. And thanks to the high speed trains from Madrid, visitors can also easily access many peninsular destinations where nature, food and wine, history, culture and architecture are the highlights to be enjoyed."

ENDS.

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