Mayor: Haemorrhaging of Shannon Airport services must stop
The Mayor of Shannon Sean McLoughlin has called on the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) to outline its position on what he called the "haemorrhaging of services" at the airport.
Mr McLoughlin said he was disappointed that SAA Board members had not yet met with Shannon Town Council on the matter, despite issuing such a request in January.
He said the Local Authority was informed by Airport Director Martin Moroney in mid-February that neither he nor Brian O’Connell, the recently appointed SAA Chairman, were in a position to meet with Town Councillors in relation to the impending loss of Ryanair services.
Mayor McLoughlin continued: “We were informed that the Board of the SAA was not yet in a position to meet Shannon Town Council as it was carrying out its own assessment and deliberations. We were told this process would take eight weeks, which I find bewildering considering that Ryanair’s withdrawal of services from Shannon was imminent. The SAA need to adopt a more visible and proactive approach to addressing the issues that effect the airport’s very survival”.
The Mayor reiterated his call on the Department of Transport to investigate the possibility of handing shared responsibility for the management of Shannon Airport to Shannon Development and the SAA. He said the Dublin Airport Authority’s (DAA) continued management of the local airport was stifling the facility’s ability to expand and develop new opportunities for itself.
He explained: “While full autonomy for Shannon Airport might not be feasible at the present time, as the financial structures are not yet in place to support such a move, it would be feasible to suggest that management of the airport could be shared equally by Shannon Development and the SAA. Shannon Development’s background in promoting tourism in and attracting new business to the region would complement the expertise that has been built up by the current management team at Shannon Airport.”
“Every effort must be made to ensure that Shannon Airport’s viability is not dependent solely on income generated from the US Military’s use of the facility. I look forward to hearing what the new Chairman of the Airport Authority has in mind for developing new business at the airport”, said the Mayor.
