More than 300 sun-seekers took off from Knock airport, Co Mayo, yesterday on a direct flight to the Caribbean on the first long-haul holiday flight from the airport. There were 325 passengers on board the Air Atlanta 767 to Punto Cana Airport in the Dominican Republic. It was the brainchild of local radio executive Mr Paul Claffey, who teamed up with Killester Travel, Dublin, for the venture.
The second wave of holidaymakers will depart on the seven-hour flight on October 13th with the final group jetting out on November 3rd.
Those travelling are paying in the region of €1,700 each for the sunshine trip, including accommodation in five-star hotels.
A spokesman for Knock International Airport, Mr Liam Scollan, said yesterday the holiday charter business was about to take off in a big way for the airport.
"This autumn we will fly about 3,000 people out of Knock on holiday charters," he said. "More and more people are interested in taking holidays out of Knock. The charter sector has huge potential."
Mr Scollan said he planned to to make about 10,000 holiday seats available from Knock next year.
Knock Airport was built by the late Monsignor James Horan in the 1980s to develop the pilgrim market.