DUBLIN AIRPORT UNVEILS NOSTALGIC 2020 CALENDAR TO MARK ITS 80TH BIRTHDAY

Dublin Airport celebrates its 80th birthday on January 19, 2020, and has produced a commemorative 2020 calendar to mark the occasion!

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The calendar has 12 iconic images including famous sports and political figures arriving at Dublin Airport during the past eight decades. 

It features famous historic moments such as President John F Kennedy’s visit, the Beatles’ arrival for two concerts at the Adelphi Cinema, and the return of the Ireland team after Italia 90.

Dublin Airport opened on Friday, January 19, 1940 at 9am when the very first commercial flight, an Aer Lingus Lockheed 14 aircraft, departed for Liverpool.

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Almost 80 years later, Dublin Airport is a thriving international airport handling more than 31.5 million passengers and in 2018 over 233,000 flights a year.

“Dublin Airport has played a critical part in connecting Ireland to the world and has welcomed visitors from all over the globe to Ireland since that first flight, so it’s fitting that we celebrate this significant milestone in the airport’s history,” enthuses managing director, Vincent Harrison.

“To mark this special year, we have produced a beautiful calendar with a series of photos from the past eighty years. 

"The calendar has a unique feature, as it has been designed in a way that any of the images can be easily framed and displayed so it can be appreciated for many years to come.”

Whether you love old photos, if you’re an aviation enthusiast or you fancy a trip down memory lane, airport operator, daa, believes that the calendar makes for a wonderful gift idea this Christmas.  

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It can be purchased for Ђ10 in Dublin Airport’s retail area The Loop from later this week with all proceeds generated from the sale going to Dublin Airport’s 2019 charity partners: Debra Ireland, Gary Kelly Cancer Support Centre and Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus.

“Eight decades on since that historic first flight, Dublin Airport is now the international gateway to island of Ireland with flights to almost 200 destinations in 43 countries, operated by 53 airlines and is the 11th busiest airport in the European Union," notes Harrison.

"It is one of Ireland’s key economic assets, as it generates or facilitates 117,300 jobs and Ђ8.3 billion worth of economic activity."

Dublin Airport will mark its 80th anniversary in a variety of ways throughout 2020, sharing archive photos, memorabilia and experiences from those who worked and travelled through the airport during that time.