Shannon Lynxs cargo facility moves a step closer

AT present, around 80% of air cargo is taken out of Ireland by road before being flown onwards from foreign airports but it is hoped there will be a dramatic change after the opening of a Lynxs cargo facility at Shannon Airport.

Agreement has nearly been reached on the provision of the facility and last week one of the remaining steps towards the development was negotiated after a Heads of Agreement was signed between the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) and the Lynxs Cargo Group.
The signing of it confirms both parties’ commitment to the project and enables Lynxs to move to the next phase of its due diligence process. Lynxs is planning to construct a new temperature-controlled freight logistics facility at Shannon. It will include chilled, frozen and heated areas for cargo.
In a statement, the DAA gave some details of what has been agreed. “Under the agreement, Lynxs is planning to construct a new temperature-controlled freight logistics facility at Shannon, with infrastructural support from the DAA. This new state-of-the-art facility will now be marketed to both existing freight and logistics companies at Shannon and to potential new customers, both domestically and internationally.”
DAA chief executive Declan Collier said he hoped there would be a final agreement quite soon. “We are delighted to have signed Heads of Agreement with Lynxs, as this enables them to move to the next stage of the project and begin detailed due diligence. We wish them every success in this process and will continue to work with Lynxs to agree a final binding agreement for the new Shannon cargo facility over the coming months.”
Senator Tony Mulcahy said he believes the project has huge potential. “We have been chasing this project for many years in Shannon and during my time as Mayor of Clare, I led delegations to meet with the previous minister, Noel Dempsey, to push this development. I have also spoken to Minister Leo Varadkar on the importance of the project for the development of the region. We have one of the longest runways in Europe and an airport that is not used to its full potential.
“With this announcement, we will see Shannon, Clare and the whole Mid-West prosper. It is great to see a global company such as Lynx identify Shannon as an ideal location to set up a freight cargo hub. It will create jobs in the construction and staffing phases of the project, with additional spin-off jobs being created when the facility is up and running.”
Shannon is one of the only European airports to have pre-clearance facilities for passengers travelling to the US. No European airports have pre-clearance for cargo and Clare TD Pat Breen said if pre-clearance can be extended to cargo flights at Shannon, it could make a significant difference.
“A major selling point for Shannon in promoting and encouraging tenants to set up their cargo operations here is to have US cargo pre-clearance at the airport. In a visit to Washington this week I met with a number of key Congressmen to discuss the cargo pre-clearance facility, including the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, as well as a number of US congressmen. They were all very supportive of the proposal to extend the pre-clearance facility at Shannon to include freight and the Heads of Agreement has strengthened our case.
“Shannon Airport has a history of innovation and has title to many firsts, including the first Irish coffee, the first duty free and the first US pre-clearance facility outside of the Americas. We now have a real opportunity to achieve another first by developing a centre of excellence for cargo development at Shannon and this development is the first step in realising that goal,” Deputy Breen concluded.