Minister Ryan and Minister of State Naughton announce contract on the Donegal PSO route to Swedish airline Amapola

The Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, TD, has today announced the award of the contract on the Donegal route to Swedish airline Amapola Flyg AB, with flights due to commence on Monday 26 July.

The Public Service Obligation (PSO) air services contract was awarded to Amapola following the completion of an accelerated procurement process, in line with EU rules, which was launched on the 21 June after the collapse of Stobart Air on 12 June.

Minister Ryan said, “I am pleased to announce that Swedish operator Amapola has been awarded the 7-month contract to operate on the Government funded Donegal – Dublin PSO route. In order to ensure continuity of service on the Donegal route when this temporary contract expires, I plan to launch a further procurement process this summer to provide for a longer term contract of up to 4 years on the route.”

The temporary contract was awarded in compliance with EU Regulation 1008/2008 in relation to air service PSOs.

Minister of State Naughton said “I am delighted that the people of Donegal and the regions served by this air service now have certainty on the resumption of flights on this route which provides vital connectivity. The Swedish airline Amapola specialises in PSO routes to remote communities and I think it will be a good fit on the Donegal route.”

Amapola Fly AB is a Swedish airline, headquartered in Stockholm. The airline started in 2005 as an air freight/cargo operator and more recently expanded its operations to include scheduled passenger services. It currently operates on 7 PSO routes in Sweden and Finland.

CEO of Amampola, Mr Erik Salén said “We are delighted to have won the tender to operate on the Donegal route and are looking forward to welcoming passengers on board when we commence operations from Donegal on 26 July. We are excited to be entering the Irish market for the first time and look forward to flying into Donegal airport which is widely considered to be one of the most scenic airports to fly into in the world.”

Mr Salén added that “flights are now on sale on our website www.amapola.nu and will be available to purchase on the Global Distribution Systemin advance of services commencing on the 26 July.”

To date, the aviation sector has received approx. €300 million in horizontal supports from the State through employment supports, waiver of commercial rates and deferral of taxes. Regional airports, including Donegal Airport, continue to avail of the horizontal supports that Government has provided and other Government supports that are available through the Regional Airports Programme.

Note to Editor

Amapola will operate a Fokker 50 aircraft on the Donegal route. The Fokker 50 is a turbo-prop aircraft that can seat 50 passengers including 3 crew.

Flights will operate out of Donegal airport twice a day, every day. On weekdays, flights will depart Donegal Airport at 08:20 and 16:40 and from Dublin airport at 15:10 and 18:20 on weekdays.

Amapola manages its customer service interface, including Family Discounts that are available, through a call centre in Sweden. Customers can contact the call centre at Tel +46 770 – 790 700 or by sending an email to callcenter@amapola.nu Amapola will be happy to answer any customer questions regarding their trips.