Funding cut for regional airports

TWO of the smaller airports in the West of Ireland will have State financial support cut off at the end of this year.

Sligo and Galway airports will not receive operational or capital funding next year, Minister for Transport, Tourism & Sport Leo Varadkar stated this week. While such a move would have very serious implications for them and may even force Galway’s closure, it could see the consolidation of Shannon’s position.
In a statement on Tuesday, Minister Varadkar said, “When I took office, I discovered that the last government had left us with just €600,000 for operational funding at all six regional airports.
“This was in spite of a disingenuous election pledge from Fianna Fáil to fund all of the airports for the whole of 2011, without allocating the necessary funding.
“The Government has now reversed that decision and is providing funding for all six regional airports, for operational purposes, for the whole of 2011. All the regional airports must use this period to prepare realistic business plans for the future, as funding cannot be maintained at current levels.
“The right thing to do is support the most viable airports, where there is also a clear geographical need for their services. Otherwise, there won’t be enough funding to support any of the airports in a meaningful way. As a result, the Government has decided that operational and capital funding will only be provided to four of the six regional airports from next year – Donegal, Knock Ireland West, Kerry and Waterford.”
He said Galway and Sligo should engage with business interests, investors and local authorities in order to secure their ongoing viability in some form.
The move was criticised by Fianna Fáil’s Éamon Ó Cuív, who said Galway Airport is very important to his constituency. “As a Galway deputy, I can testify to the importance of Galway Airport to the people of Galway but also crucially to the tourism and business interests there. Air access is a major issue for multinational companies when they make decisions on where to invest their money and create jobs. Local IDA senior executives have made their views on this well known, ” he said.
A review of expenditure on regional airports carried out some months ago found that there were too many airports in the West of Ireland.
“There is a strong case for rationalisation of the regional airports along the western seaboard. There are substantial overlapping catchment areas between these airports, while improvements in road and rail means that access from the regions to Dublin, Cork and Shannon is more speedy and reliable than 10 years ago,” it stated.
It also found that Knock was the most sturdy of the regional airports in the West. “To continue to support three airports, (Sligo, Knock and Galway) in close proximity to one another does not make sense, particularly where travel times by other modes have reduced over the last five years. Of the three airports in the region, Knock has the greatest potential to grow, attract airlines and increase routes, thereby improving connectivity to the region,” the report stated.