Transport Minister Effectively Rules Out Restructuring Of Shannon Group

The Transport Minister has effectively ruled out a restructuring of Shannon Group.

It follows calls for Shannon Airport to be taken back under control of the daa, following a significant decline in passenger numbers, due to both the pandemic and the global grounding of the Boeing 737 Max jet.

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A Government review into Shannon Group has yet to be published.

During what was forecast to be a positive year for Shannon Airport, passenger numbers at the Midwest facility took a nose dive to 352,000, an annual fall of almost 80%.

This was largely due to the COVID pandemic, and the crisis affecting aviation, but as the focus starts to shift to recovery, some have called for Shannon to be taken back under the control of the daa.

A Government review of Shannon Group is still underway, but the Transport Minister has today effectively ruled out any significant restructuring of the company.

Eamon Ryan says he expects a new Chair of the Board to be appointed within the coming fortnight and says a solution to Shannon’s problems need to come from Shannon itself.

Speaking today on Clare FM’s Morning Focus, the Transport Minister admits there’s an excessive imbalance in terms of the volumes of traffic coming into Dublin, compared to other airports, with 87% of all passengers travelling into the capital, as well as 90% of all roll-on roll-off freight.

Eamon Ryan insists this need to be re-balanced through increased investment in the regions, citing the development of rail infrastructure between Limerick City, Shannon town and the airport as one potentially significant move.

Rather than looking to re-direct flights towards the likes of Shannon, the Minister said he wants to see a change in focus in the country’s tourism strategy.