SHANNON Airport punches well above its weight, according to the CEO of Ryanair.
At a luncheon event in Dromoland Castle, Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson told attendees that the Mid West airport lives on its own merits, but has the potential to flourish even further if the government were to include it in the Regional Airports Programme.
Ryanair has to date invested over €300million in Shannon Airport, basing three aircraft there and operating 26 routes to 10 countries, carrying a total of 20 million passengers to date.
“Shannon is operating in a very competitive environment for scarce capacity in regional airports. It is not competing with Dublin; it is competing with airports such a Marseilles, so it needs to stay competitive,” Mr Wilson told the gathering.
“Airlines will put aircraft in airports with the lowest cost base; that’s why Shannon needs to stay competitive.”
President of Shannon Chamber, Eoin Gavin, welcomed the investment that Ryanair is making in Shannon Airport, but stated that a government review of the National Aviation Policy is essential.
“Managing within the cap of 32 million passengers creates a challenge that can be addressed by redistributing traffic across other airports in Ireland. We say this against a background where nearly 40 per cent of Ireland’s population lives within the catchment area of Shannon Airport, while 38 per cent of visitors arriving at Dublin Airport ultimately head to the West of Ireland,” Mr Gavin said.
The Shannon Chamber president added that “Shannon Airport, with its existing infrastructure, can instantly absorb an additional three million passengers without the need for any further upgrades, providing an immediate and practical solution to ease the pressure on Dublin”.
