Tag Archives: Airport

SHANNON Group made a profit of just under €7.3 million last year. The Group encompasses Shannon Airport, Shannon Commercial Properties, Shannon Heritage and Shannon IASC. Its accounts show that it had total fixed and current assets of €147.5 million and total equity of €120.2 million. There were liabilities of €27.3 million. The accounts show that aeronautical and commercial activities were responsible for €37.76 million in revenue, commercial property rental, management and development for €14.22 million and tourism activities for €13.57 million. Shannon Group saw depreciation of just under €4 million in 2015. Wages and salaries for the year came to €28 million while there were social welfare costs of €2.46 million. On average Shannon Group employed 481 staff during the year. Four hundred and two were in operations and administration, 48 in commercial activities and 31 in property. Remuneration for the then Shannon Group Chief Executive Officer Neil Pakey came to €255,676 in 2015. Commenting on the Shannon Group results, …

SHANNON Gardai are investigating following the emergency landing of a Turkish airlines flight at the airport, which was en route from Houston to Istanbul. Its being reported that a piece of paper with the word bomb written on it was found in one of the toilets. The flight landed at around 11am this morning and all on board were taken from the aircraft, which was parked in an isolated part of the airport. Last November a New York-Istanbul Turkish Airlines flight was the subject of a bomb hoax, while there was another such incident affecting a Turkish flight from Istanbul to Basel in April.  

SHANNON Group CEO Neil Pakey will not have his contract renewed when it expires next June, it was announced on Tuesday. While Shannon Airport has returned to growth since separation from the Dublin Airport Authority in 2013, this year the increase in passenger numbers is set to be relatively minor, in the order of 4%. Shannon will only reach about two-thirds of the 2021 target of having 2.5million passengers. Indeed, a target of 2.3m passengers by 2017 is very unlikely to be met. It has also lost a handful of routes in recent times, while competing airports have had more positive developments. There is shock in some quarters that Mr Pakey’s contract is not being renewed, as Shannon Group (which also includes Shannon Commercial Properties and Shannon Heritage) has frequently expressed satisfaction with the progress made during his tenure. On Tuesday afternoon, Clare TD Timmy Dooley said the decision by the board of Shannon Group raises a number of serious …

DESPITE Shannon Airport’s much vaunted recovery, Shannon Group is about to seek redundancies from staff, with talks between management and unions set to begin next week. Shannon Group is a commercial semi state, with Shannon Airport as its core and also encompassing Shannon Commercial Enterprises (formerly Shannon Development)Shannon Castle Banquets and Heritage Limited (formerly Shannon Heritage) along with the International Aviation Services Centre. In a statement to the Clare Champion on Wednesday evening Shannon Group claimed that the redundancies are required to help its competitive position. “The necessity to address the cost base of the Shannon Group business units has been known for some time. In recent times it has been referenced in the Shannon task force report and subsequent annual reports. We are exploring options to address this including a voluntary severance scheme. This will make for a more sustainable business model going forward.” No details of what terms will be offered to staff looking to depart have been …

THE Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall were welcomed as they arrived in Ireland by Shannon Group Chairman Rose Hynes, CEO Neil Pakey, Chairman of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Clare T.D. Pat Breen and Deputy Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council Joe Cooney. Ms Hynes said that she took the opportunity to congratulate them on the birth of Princess Charlotte earlier this month. “We were delighted to welcome the Prince and Duchess here to Shannon and it was another very important day for us at the airport. Prince Charles was very relaxed and was looking forward to his visit. “He was very friendly and warm. He was only here for a brief time on arrival but I did get to congratulate him on the birth of his granddaughter Princess Charlotte. He was like any grandfather, very proud. He said ‘that’s so kind; it’s wonderful that it’s a girl’.” Prince Charles also noted in the conversation his …

TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly both addressed Ennis District Court on Tuesday, claiming Ireland is complicit in atrocities through its decision to allow the US military to use Shannon Airport. They criticised the lack of inspections on aircraft being used by the US military, claiming that relying on diplomatic assurances from America is hopelessly inadequate. The two are accused of climbing a perimeter fence at Shannon and entering a part of the airport to which they were not permitted on July 22 of last year. During evidence on Tuesday, both freely acknowledged that they had entered the area in question but claimed they were left with no other option due to the lack of inspections being carried out by the authorities. They said they had been told to provide some concrete evidence to justify inspections and that their attempt to get to a US aircraft on the Shannon tarmac was a response. Mr Wallace also spoke about his experiences …

IN the run up to Willie Walsh’s appearance at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications it was noticeable that while IAG were offering to guarantee that the Aer Lingus Heathrow slots would be used on Irish routes, they were making no commitments to serve Shannon or Cork. However that changed last Thursday, as after a little pressure, Mr Walsh confirmed that he was offering guarantees of five years of connectivity for the two airports. Mr Walsh also said that as it stands Shannon or Cork have no such guarantees, and that a takeover actually gives them greater certainty. While some of the Committee members asked him about giving an even longer guarantee, he insisted there is absolutely no way that he will do so. Early in the sitting Mr Walsh rubbished claims that any guarantees on connectivity would not be enforceable. “I have heard people say they are not worth the paper they are not worth the paper …

Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe has said he is very aware of the importance of connectivity to Shannon Airport and to business in Clare. There have been fears that Shannon’s Heathrow links could be lost if the mooted IAG takeover of Aer Lingus goes through, and while the Minister didn’t explicitly rule out a deal which could see the Clare airport losing connectivity, he stressed that he is very aware of how important the link is, and said connectivity would be an important consideration in making a decision on any bid for the State’s 25.1% stake. In an interview with The Clare Champion, he said, “We’re looking at all of the consequences that the proposed bid could have for connectivity. I’m very much aware of how important connectivity is for the Shannon region and how important Shannon Airport is. I have said throughout all of this that national connectivity and the particular impact on our regions will be vital if a bid …