Our regular feature, brought to you in association with Duty Free Global from Ireland, celebrates memorable scenes, moments, launches and campaigns related to the global aviation and travel retail sphere.
IRELAND. Our latest selection of images comes from Shannon Airport, international gateway to Ireland’s mid-west region and the birthplace of modern-day duty free in 1947.
With 2.3 million passengers in 2025, the airport is more leisure getaway to European destinations than the powerhouse of transatlantic connections it once was. Yet the US business remains important, as an early morning glance at the flight display screens shows, with regular services to New York, Boston and Chicago.
That also explains the strength of the Irish brand showcase, from shawls and Aran sweaters to chocolates and specially, Irish whiskey. The latter, towards the back of the store but adjacent to till points, is a true destination category with an enviable range of whiskies from all parts of the island. Importantly, on every recent visit we have spotted something new, underlining the appeal of the category despite some recent headwinds for producers, among them US tariffs.
Even though the store is reduced in size from its vast footprint of many years ago, it remains large relative to the size of the traveller audience, with generous spaces for Irish and global beauty and fashion & accessories out front, followed by food and drink further back.
With those many prominent showcases, Shannon Airport remains a vital location at which to tell the stories of Ireland’s great brands, and to nurture critical connections with the diaspora heading west across the Atlantic Ocean. ✈
