The head of the Shannon Airport Group has told a Government Minister the facility is “underutilised” and can play a greater role in easing congestion in Dublin.
Newly-appointed Minister of State James Lawless has visited the Midwest base where much of the discussion has centred around perceived regional imbalance and boosting Shannon’s passenger growth.
The new Minister of State at the Department of Transport and at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications has announced the high-level outcomes of the Mid-Term Review of the Regional Airports Programme for 2021 to 2025.
Chief among these is the development of a new Regional State Airports Sustainability Programme, which has a capital budget of €4.2 million that can be availed of by Shannon and Cork Airports as they strive to meet their sustainability goals.
Shannon has recently applied for a solar photovoltaic farm as a means of producing renewable energy and one of the other outcomes of the Government’s review is to expand the scope of sustainability projects such as this.
Among the actions to be considered in advance of the next Regional Airports Programme are putting adequate supports are in place for regional airports such as Shannon, promoting balanced regional development and consulting with airlines with a view to bringing more routes to regional airports.
As Dublin Airport is currently limited to having 32 million passengers a year, there is much dialogue around how other airports can play their part in taking on additional flights.
Minister of State James Lawless says there’s no reason why Shannon shouldn’t be a key part of the solution.
The aviation regulator, the Irish Aviation Authority, has recently capped the number of passengers to go through Dublin Airport over the coming winter season at 14.4 million.
Responding to the measure, Ryanair says air fares will likely go “through the roof” as a result.
CEO of the Shannon Airport Group Mary Considine insists the Government must acknowledge the potential for Shannon to grow and alleviate issues in Dublin.
