Twins Reunited

03.11.2004 To celebrate the launch of a new direct flight route between Coventry and Cork the Lord Mayor of Coventry travelled on the inaugural flight with Thomsonfly.com to meet the Lord Mayor of Cork.
The Lord Mayor of Coventry, John Gazey, travelled on Thomsonfly.com flight from Coventry this morning and was met by the Lord Mayor of Cork, Seán Martin, at Cork Airport. As the two cities have been twinned since 1960 the new flight will make the connection between the two communities even stronger.

Kay Forrest of the Coventry Cork Association and Coventry Irish Society, who was born in Cork, said, "The new route will be very handy for us. We link up with a lot of different organisations in Cork so this will make it much easier for the two communities to work together. Many organisations including clubs, dance groups and schools are twinned with similar organisations in Cork - these links are important for the Irish people in Coventry."

Coventry is the most twinned city in the world, however Coventry Cork is one of the most active relationships. The twinning was established because so many people from Cork had resettled in Coventry over the years. Irish people have settled in the city over four centuries, with the largest migration during the famine of the 18th century and to help rebuild the city after World War II.

The Lord Mayor was escorted by Chief Commercial Officer of Thomsonfly.com, Alex Hunter, who said, “We are delighted to be able to offer people from the region the flight connections to Ireland. The flight has proved popular both sides of the Irish Sea and is likely to bring many incoming visitors as over 30% of the flight bookings are people from the Cork area."

The County of Cork shares with Kerry the south-western corner of Ireland which is one of the most popular holiday areas in Ireland and is a regional of scenic contrasts. The area is steeped in history and folklore with over 100 heritage and cultural sites. Cork, the Republic of Ireland’s second city, is the European Capital of Culture 2005. The buzzing city is a great place for a weekend break or base from which to explore the wider region.

The British low-fares airline, based at Coventry Airport, started flying in March this year to destinations in the Med and throughout Europe and added its new routes to Cork and Shannon this week.

The Cork to Coventry flight service will operate daily providing flexibility for travellers of when they travel and the length of their stay. One way fares start from only £13.99 including taxes and charges and depart at 07:00 arriving into Cork at 08:15.

Thomsonfly.com is part of the World of TUI which also owns the popular Irish holiday company Budget Travel. All Thomsonfly.com flights are on modern 737-500 aircraft.

For further information and to book flights visit www.thomsonfly.com  or by calling 0870 1900 737.