From next summer, US Airways will operate a daily service from Philadelphia to Shannon, in the south west of Ireland.

These summer flights, during the Gathering Ireland 2013 tourism push, will run between 23rd May and 3rd September, using Boeing 757 aircrafts.

Although the flights have been loaded into US Airways system, their prices have not been specified. Flights are set to leave Philadelphia at 9.15pm and arrive in Shannon at 8.40am. They will then leave Shannon at 11.35am for the return journey 

Earlier this month United Airlines announced that they would also introduce a Chicago to Shannon route, running from June to September.

The Irish Times reports that these new route announcements are being made as plans to separate Shannon from the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) gain momentum. The Department of Transport is working on a paper to seek Cabinet approval by the end of November to separate the authorities by the end of 2012.

Shannon and Dublin has transition plans in place and are ready to separate by 31st December. Union advisers are reviewing the separation plan.

Read more: United Airlines to announce Washington DC service to Dublin