22 April 2024: This month, our comprehensive six month long charter service to Lourdes commences. This is the 19th consecutive year that Smart Aviation has been heavily involved in these annual pilgrimages and this year, we will fly over 40,000 passengers from a variety of regional airports to the universal place of meeting, prayer and celebration of life. 

The large-scale operation of charter flights will run from April 2024 until October 2024. Tour operators rely on Smart to run seamless flight operations and to source the right aircraft for specific departure destinations. Pilgrims travel on a variety of tours – from short breaks to to week-long pilgrimages – and Smart is responsible for providing the operators with their weekly charters flights. 

The Smart Team will run a complex schedule of departures to the Holy French town from Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Knock, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow, and will work with some of our loyal airlines partners, including Alba Star, Smart Wings, Trade Air and Neos, to guarantee exemplary service. 

Lourdes is the most visited pilgrimage site in the Christian world, with over six-million people visiting the iconic site at the foothills of the Pyrenees each year each year. The world-renowned pilgrimage began in 1858 when the Marian apparitions of Our Lady of Lourdes appeared to Bernadette Soubirous.

Smart Aviation transports pilgrims to join in-depth programs led by Spiritual Directors and coordinated locally with highly skilled teams. With over 22 places of worship to visit, including the miraculous spring in the Grotto that is famous for its healing waters, travellers can choose between short breaks or weeklong pilgrimages. With a huge demand, travellers are advised to book well in advance. 

Throughout the charter operation, Smart provides truly personalised service and handles the most delicate of requests for clients on the pilgrimage including arranging accessibility requirements including wheelchair access, the safe transportation of essential media equipment and supplies, meal requirements, and dedicated handling agents.  

Smart Aviation Managing Director Mark Hawkins said: “This is the 19th year running that Smart has played such a pivotal role in the annual pilgrimage to Lourdes. The team will live and breathe these flights for the next six months, knowing that our planning, as always, will be meticulous. We have set extremely high standards over the years, as we know just how important this spiritual journey is to all that travel with us. It is always extremely moving to be part of something so vast and important. Each year, I join a departure to check the standard is as high as we always hold ourselves to”. 

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