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In a dramatic U-turn that will provide a major boost to Shannon Airport, Stobart Air has confirmed it will resume service from the Irish airport – less than three months after it had pulled its entire operation from there.

Stobart Air's u-turn sees them return to Shannon Airport

Stobart Air’s u-turn sees them return to Shannon Airport Image by Ian Gratton / CC BY 2.0

The airline says its will recommence in mid-June with a six flights a week to Birmingham, but will not base any aircraft at Shannon.

The airline which operates the Aer Lingus Regional brand, had ended operations in January, claiming that Shannon didn’t fit with its “strategic plan at this time”.

The closure of the Shannon base saw the loss of 20 weekly flights to Birmingham, Bristol and Edinburgh.

The Irish Independent reports the company as saying that by closing the base, they were able to consolidate costs and then look at Shannon in a different light.

Stobart’s head of revenue management, Ronan Whitty said that passenger demand was there and they would undertake a major push to get a positive response from passengers using the new route.