*Shannon Airport.
SHANNON AIRPORT needs to fight back against a potential lifting of the passenger cap at Dublin Airport, councillors in Clare have argued.
Available slots at Dublin Airport have been limited by the Irish Aviation Authority in a bid to prevent it from exceeding the 32 million passenger cap.
Some airlines operating at Dublin have made a decision to reduce the scale of their operations from the capital as a result prompting the daa to launch a new scheme encouraging airlines to move seat capacity to Cork instead.
CEO of Kerry Airport, John Mulhern this week wrote to An Taoiseach, Simon Harris (FG) expressing concerns on the direct and indirect impact to regional airports of the passenger cap. He said tourism growth into Ireland via Dublin is essential to the economy of rural Ireland and should be encouraged rather than inhibited.
On Tuesday, Cllr David Griffin (FF) urged Clare County Council to engage with the Shannon Airport Group management and the Department of Transport “to ensure Shannon Airport remains commercially competitive in light of ongoing capacity issues at Dublin Airport.”
Speaking at a meeting of Clare County Council, he said, “the cap shows the Dublin focused and centred aviation policy we have in Ireland”. He referenced attempts by the daa to shift traffic to Cork Airport and stressed the need for Shannon to be supported strongly. “Our airport has always been to the fore on innovation but it has remained under-utilised”. He added, “we can’t be the sorry cousins at the end of the line”.
Contributions of Senator Roisin Garvey (GP) and Limerick Mayor, John Moran on RTÉ’s Upfront with Katie Hannon in fighting the case for Shannon were commended bv Cllr Michael Begley (IND). He said, “I call on the CEO of the Shannon Airport Group to take advantage of the problems in Dublin, if it involves incentives and conversations with airlines to put more traffic through to Shannon then it should be done”.
Shannon based, Cllr Donna McGettigan (SF) stated, “people in Kildare have drove down to Shannon Airport and after using it once they will always use it because of the ease of access”. Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) commented, “we have to fight our own battle, we have to mind our own population” and added, “We have to focus on our own patch, we have potential but we need to address accommodation for the tourists”.
“I do believe Shannon has a bright future but we’ve really got the aviation policy so wrong, the Department of Transport left it to people in Dublin,” remarked Cllr Michael Shannon (FF). “My own policy is that there should be at least five million passengers in both Shannon and Cork, 2.5 million in Knock and spread it out”. He pointed out that there is no flights to Canada available from the West of Ireland. “There is no reason why we can’t increase capacity, the whole German product, 99% of all German flights go into Dublin Airport, there is no flight only one into Kerry three days a week, there is huge potential for regional airports to gain out of Dublin”.
According to Cllr Tommy Guilfoyle (SF), “If the Banner County was a person, Shannon Airport is one of our vital organs”. Government policy made Dublin and Cork Airports competitors of Shannon since its separation from the daa, he maintained. A former member of the daa board, he recalled that his final term was cut short by the separation, “I was told ‘best of luck’ with a smirk by Dublin directors in standing up against it for Shannon”.
Cllr Rita McInerney (FF) felt, “there is no reason to lift the cap in Dublin Airport, there is plenty capacity between Shannon, Cork, Knock, Kerry”. She flagged, “70 percent of our tourism jobs are outside of Dublin, 40 percent of tourists that arrive in Dublin leave immediately because their destination is the Wild Atlantic Way or Hidden Heartlands”.
Calls to set up a working group involving each Chief Executive of local authorities in the Mid-West region was suggested by Cllr Pat Hayes (FF). “Shannon is going well but there is capacity for more,” said Cllr Pat O’Gorman (FF). Cllr Mary Howard (FG) stated, “Not too many people can say they live within 20 minutes of an international airport, can park car and be in duty free bar in five minutes, it is the most person friendly airport I’ve been to. This weakness in Dublin is a chance for us to band together”.
Every step by elected representatives in Clare to try help Shannon Airport would be worthwhile, maintained Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) who said Cllr Griffin’s predecessor Pat McMahon (FF) would be smiling to see a Newmarket-on-Fergus representative tabling motions on the International Airport.
Chief Executive of the Council, Pat Dowling told the meeting that the local authority “has always been consistent around its support of Shannon Airport. There is a new statutory committee put in place, there is a project board chaired by the directly elected Mayor of Limerick and includes Clare County Council where I stressed the importance of the Airport”. He said this group had a legal standing and negated the suggestion from Cllr Hayes.
