IT has been confirmed that Flyglobespan, the no-frills Scotland-based airline, will "more than likely not return" after a winter hiatus as the main low cost carrier between Ireland West Airport in Knock, Co. Mayo and New York and Boston in spring and summer 2008. Annette Kearney, the marketing and route development manager for the airport told the Irish Voice, "I would say that it would be highly unlikely that Flyglobespan will operate for the trans-Atlantic route this summer. We're still in negotiations with a number of airlines in relation to U.S. flight services for this year. We're not in a position yet to confirm that yet, however."Despite a series of highly publicized setbacks with Flyglobespan, including flight delays that in some instances lasted for days, and shoddy customer service, Kearney is predicting that 2008 will be a year of record-breaking growth for the airport in Knock. December and Christmas 2007 was the busiest ever for the airport with 38,000 passengers using the Knock's flight services during the period."Passenger demand for the U.S. routes was extremely high and the delay in announcing a carrier isn't due to a lack of demand - it's a question of getting all the relevant factors in place before we announce it," Kearney said."We're very committed to getting a reliable long-term relationship going with a well-known carrier."The introduction of trans-Atlantic services to New York and Boston was a significant boost for Knock Airport and the surrounding region in 2007. Both routes reached bookings of between 80% and 85%. Having serviced over 30,000 U.S. passengers for the summer 2007 season, the airport is determined to build on passenger demand.Asked where interested members of the public will find the information about flights once the carrier has been confirmed Kearney replied, "We will issue a media notice and we'll put it on our website as well. The best thing to do is keep an eye on our website Irelandwestairport.com."In 2008 growth is expected to come from the expansion of the airport's U.K. network as well as the continued development of its European charter holiday business. U.K. passenger numbers are expected to surpass half a million and generate a projected U.K. tourism spend of almost *67 million for the west and north west region of Ireland. In a statement Robert Grealis, CEO of Ireland West Airport Knock said, "We are projecting that passenger volumes in 2008 will increase by a quarter to almost 700,000, which will be the busiest year ever in the history of the Airport. We will employ approximately 200 people in the peak summer season with an additional estimation of 1,100 jobs being generated in spin off businesses."