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Picnic delayed 'in hope'

The organisers of Electric Picnic have moved the festival back three weeks to the end of September in a bid to ensure it goes ahead. electricpicnic

In a statement this afternoon, the organisers of the music and arts festival said they felt moving it to the weekend of September 24-26 gives them “a much better chance” of the event going ahead.

The festival did not go ahead last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but organisers are hopeful the event can return later this year.

“Given the great progress the HSE is making on the vaccine rollout so far, and the recently announced target of having at least 70pc of the country fully vaccinated by the end of July, we are still confident that the festival can take place this year.

“That being said, we feel we have a much better chance of that happening by moving the dates back a few weeks to September 24-26 instead of the original dates of September 3-5,” the statement read.

Whitbread reports strong bookings

Premier Inn-owner Whitbread has reported strong forward booking trends in tourist locations throughout the summer, as demand for travel and leisure picked up after Britain premierinn eased some Covid-19 curbs in April and May.

However, the company said total sales fell 69.8% in the first quarter from pre-Covid levels.

Ryanair 'Max' arrives

Ryanair has taken delivery of its first Boeing Max jet after a more than two-year delay following two crashes involving the aircraft type. ryanairmax

Ryanair is among the US plane maker’s biggest customers but has heavily criticised Boeing’s Seattle operation in recent weeks for delays in its Max delivery schedule and a lack of communication.

The Ryanair Max 737 8-200 jet was over Greenland en route to Dublin at mid afternoon on Wednesday. It’s due to arrive at about 6pm Irish time.

Last December, Ryanair gave Boeing a major boost by ordering an additional 75 Max 737-8 200 jets, bring the Irish carrier’s total orderbook for Max aircraft to 210. They’re worth more than $22bn (€18bn) at list prices.

Airport passengers down 92%

According to new data published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the number of people handled by Ireland's five main airports decreased by 92.9% year-on-year to 419,00 dublinairport0421 0 in the first quarter of 2021.

The number of people handled by Ireland's five main airports was also down by 94.4% compared with Q1 2019.

Ireland's five main airports are Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock and Kerry airports.

According to the new CSO data, Dublin Airport accounted for 96.7% of all air passengers handled by Ireland's five main airports during the first quarter of this year.

The data shows that a little more than 9,000 flights were handled by Ireland's five main airports in the first quarter of 2021, with Dublin accounting for 88.3% of all flights (7,949) and Shannon accounting for 6.1% of all flights (545).

€85m Investment for Center Parcs

Center Parcs is to spend €85m expanding its forest resort in Co Longford, with the creation of 250 permanent jobs once the development is complete. Centerparcs0119

It said 200 additional accommodation lodges are to be built, including four luxury tree houses, while existing guest facilities are to be extended at the Ballymahon resort.

The company also said 300 temporary positions are to be created during the construction phase of the project.

Site surveying and design is to begin immediately and the company hopes to submit a planning application to Longford County Council by the end of the year.

If permission is granted next year, Center Parcs hopes to be able to begin construction in 2023.