Elected representatives of Clare County Council have passed a motion calling on the Government to grant full autonomy to Shannon Airport. The 32 County councillors also unanimously requested that a fully autonomous Shannon Airport be granted debt free status and be initially subsidised by the Government…
Elected representatives of Clare County Council have passed a motion calling on the Government to grant full autonomy to Shannon Airport. The 32 County councillors also unanimously requested that a fully autonomous Shannon Airport be granted debt free status and be initially subsidised by the Government.
Speaking following the monthly meeting of Clare County Council at Shannon Airport, the Mayor of Clare said that the time had come for Shannon to be freed from the shackles of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).
She explained that the DAA had delivered little or nothing for Shannon and was unlikely to do so in the future.
"The debacle surrounding the DAA’s failure to inform Department of Transport officials of Aer Lingus’s impending decision to drop services between Shannon and Heathrow is a testament of its gross disregard for the protection of Shannon Airport’s strategic interests", added the Mayor.
Cllr. McCarthy continued, "The threat now posed to the airport’s transatlantic routes remains a very real concern and one that is unlikely to be counteracted by the DAA. By being fully autonomous, Shannon Airport will be better able to protect these routes and will also be to win its share of additional business to almost 20 new gateways in the United States. There are strong indications that the Independent Board at Shannon has performed its functions very successfully to date and that it would be capable of operating with better effect were it fully independent of the DAA."
The Mayor indicated that a critical juncture had been reached in deciding whether to grant Shannon Airport full autonomy.
She said, "The Shannon Airport Authority recently prepared a business plan, which has been submitted to the Minister for Transport and the Minister for Finance. In its analysis of the plan and its implications for the future viability of the Airport, I would ask the Government to take into account the growth potential for Shannon by presenting it with debt free status and full autonomy."
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