No plans confirmed for terminal

CORK AIRPORT has no firm plans for the future of its existing terminal, with just six months remaining before its €160 million replacement comes into operation.

A Cork Airport Authority spokesperson said yesterday that the authority’s focus was on completing work on the new terminal and that no decisions had yet been made on future uses for the current terminal.

It has been speculated that the old terminal will eventually be used by low-cost airlines such as Ryanair.

But the spokesperson denied that any discussions with potential users of the terminal had taken place.

Alternative uses for the terminal include offices or storage.

The new terminal, where construction is scheduled for completion in November, will be capable of handling three million passengers per year, which is around three times the capacity of the current building.

The airport authority fast-tracked its application for planning permission for the new terminal by undertaking to switch all passenger traffic from the current building on completion.

This avoided the requirement for an environmental impact study, which could have delayed the planning process by up to six months.

But such a study will still be required if the authority decides to bring the existing building back into public use.

Although the building dates back to the early 1960s, building work to upgrade the terminal was carried out as recently as 1994, leaving it with a considerably useful life-span remaining.

Ryanair said yesterday that its main concern was to have access to a terminal that provided it with the ability to operate to its desired standards.

It would be open to using either terminal at Cork if they allowed it to turn planes around quickly and meet its operating, safety and security criteria. The airline announced plans to open a new Cork-Dublin route with effect from November, undercutting Aer Arann, the existing operator on the route, and Irish Rail.

New Cork Airport Authority chief executive Pat Keohane takes up his position next week.

He replaces Joe O’Connor, who retired recently after 39 years at the airport, including seven years as chief executive.