CLEVELAND — Friday night, history will be made at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, with Aer Lingus launching the first-ever direct flight connecting Dublin, Ireland, to Cleveland.
City leaders like Mayor Justin Bibb, City Council President Blaine Griffin, Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne and other stakeholders will be on Friday's flight on a taxpayer-funded trip.
According to those stakeholders, it's not for play but for work; work that will begin once they land in Dublin.
"We are excited to tell the story of Cleveland and let folks in Ireland know that Cleveland is open and ready for business," said Bibb.
Mark Owens is originally from Ireland but moved to Cleveland to attend John Carroll University in the 90s. He is now the Vice President of Marketing for Team NEO, which is Northeast Ohio's economic development partner and is also the Honorary Counsel of Ireland to Ohio.
He will be on Friday's flight.
"A lot of times we've driven to Toronto, you know, the four-and-a-half-hour drive just to get that direct flight in Toronto to Dublin. We've done that multiple times," he said.
He said he's wanted to connect his two homes for years.
"We've tried to get our links in the past, and we didn't have all those stakeholders at the table at the same time, with the same vision, but we're in that now," he said.
Owens adds bringing Aer Lingus to Cleveland was a team effort with the county, city, airport, Destination Cleveland, Greater Cleveland Partnership, Team NEO and JobsOhio.
Bibb adds the flight isn't just about people in Northeast Ohio getting to experience Europe; it's about bringing the Irish here. He said the direct flight is projected to bring $85 million in economic revenue to our region.
They'll be meeting with the mayor of Dublin and the U.S. Ambassador to Ireland and marketing the region as a place for business opportunity.
"All of our key business stakeholders will be talking about how can we attract more foreign investment direct from Ireland back to Cleveland and to showcase companies like Eaton that have a world headquarters in Dublin but also have headquarters in Cleveland," said Bibb.
While also showcasing the region's attractions.
"Cleveland has world-class amenities just like those other big markets, from The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to our world-class symphony and orchestra, to the best art museum, I think, in the world," said Bibb.
Owens is excited for his dream of a direct connection to home to turn into reality.
"We listened to the business community. We listened to not just the Irish community, the European community in general about the need to get to Europe, and this is it," he said. "It almost feels like an Irish Christmas."
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