‘Airport costs too high in Cork’

The Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar has stated that new government legislation provides a mechanism for Cork Airport to become independent.

However, Mr Varadkar said that if Cork Airport secured its independence now, the airport “would immediately be loss-making”.

Speaking during a Seanad debate on the State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014, Mr Varadkar said: “Unlike Shannon Airport, Cork Airport’s operating costs substantially exceed its revenues. To operate on a commercial basis it would require significant redundancies and or pay cuts, which nobody is proposing.”