Cork Airport Authority chief to step down

THE CORK Airport Authority (CAA) is seeking a new chief executive with current head Joe O'Connor planning to step down next year.

The authority, which was established to run the airport following the break-up of Aer Rianta in October, has hired headhunters to find a replacement for the highly-regarded Mr O'Connor. He expected to stay until the middle of next year.

The authority has already taken a number of newspaper ads seeking the new chief executive. It is not known if there any internal candidates for the post.

Given the new freedom the three authorities have to develop the airports, there is expected to be strong interest in the job. The contract is for up to seven years, though now salary terms were disclosed.

Cork Airport has seen a number of new destinations launched in the past year, and Aer Lingus recently announcement a major expansion with new European routes.

A new €160 million terminal is also going to be built to cope with the expected doubling of passenger numbers.

Cork Airport is expected to generate revenues of €35 million this year with a third of this coming from its commercial activities. The facility will handle 2.2 million passengers this year.

The Cork Airport Authority is chaired by the former Apple Computer boss in Ireland Joe Gantly.

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is also seeking a chief executive following the departure of Aer Rianta group head Margaret Sweeney some months ago.

In October, the DAA started the recruitment process to find a successor, which many industry watchers felt would be appointed before Christmas.