Historic occasion for Aer Lingus and Cork Airport

Cork Airport got a glimpse of the past this week when an old Aer Lingus de Havilland DH.84 Dragon visited the Irish gateway.

The aircraft, named ‘Iolar’ (eagle), paid a courtesy visit marking the airline’s 90th anniversary celebrations and the airport’s 65th anniversary year.

The aircraft is an exact replica of the very first aircraft that flew the airline’s first ever route from Baldonnell in Dublin to Bristol’s Whitchurch Airport in May 1936.

Carrying five passengers on its inaugural flight, the journey took three hours, cruising at an average speed of 110 mph (177 km/h). By comparison, a modern Aer Lingus Airbus A320 jet cruises at a speed of 515 mph (829 km/h).

While the original Iolar was lost off the English coast during the Second World War, this impeccably restored DH.84 Dragon joined the Aer Lingus fleet in 1986 as the airline marked its 50th anniversary celebrations.

Welcoming the Aer Lingus Iolar to Cork Airport, Darran Dineen, general manager for operations, safety, IT and facilities at Cork Airport, said: “This is truly a unique and historic visit today and doubly special as Aer Lingus celebrates its 90th anniversary, Cork Airport is marking its 65th year.

“Aer Lingus is our longest standing airline customer, having a presence here since 1961 and we’re especially proud to join in the celebration with Aer Lingus’ Cork-based staff.”

Today, Aer Lingus flies non-stop from Cork to 15 destinations across the UK and Europe, including four-times a day to London Heathrow where passengers can connect to flights across the globe.