The Chair of Shannon Group insists that new aviation policy will require politicians, voters and travellers alike to understand that sacrifices and tough decisions need to be made.
It follows scenes witnessed over the weekend at Dublin airport, when 1,000 people missed their flights and thousands of passengers were forced to queue for hours outside and inside the terminal buildings.
DAA is sitting down with Government Ministers today to outline plans to improve efficiency at Dublin Airport.
The airport authority is presenting a paper outlining its short-term plan for managing queues ahead of the bank holiday weekend and will also indicate a medium-term plan to handle the busy summer period.
More than 1,000 people missed flights after huge queue’s formed at check-in, bag drop and security on Sunday, with people left waiting hours before even entering the terminal buildings.
The situation has prompted fresh calls from representatives in the Midwest for new aviation policy to be fast-tracked, after Minister Eamon Ryan indicated his intention to begin a consultation process soon.
Shannon Chamber’s CEO fears the chokehold Dublin Airport has on the sector could destroy the competitiveness of Shannon Airport if a push for a more balanced aviation policy isn’t successful.
Helen Downes says forcing four regional airports to fight for 13% of the market, while Dublin retains 87% of traffic isn’t workable.
The new Chair of Shannon Group has expressed confidence the Transport Minister Eamon Ryan and Minister of State Hildegard Naughton are committed to looking at airline policy in a way that deals with the current issues surrounding capacity.
Conal Henry believes that in the long run, Shannon can cater for millions of additional passengers if airport traffic is rebalanced, something he says is needed.
He’s warned, however, that the four airports in the west don’t currently have sufficient route density to become an effective counter balance to Dublin and tough decisions will have to be made.
Listen back to the full interview now:
