Shannon expects Ryanair to honour deal of two million passengers

SHANNON Airport says it expects Ryanair to honour its commitment to deliver two million passengers a year at the airport despite the airline saying it is going to cut services.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said he is going to announce a series of cutbacks at Shannon and Dublin airports in the coming weeks as a direct result of the Government’s €10 air passenger tax, which comes into effect on April 1.

However, sources said Ryanair is nowhere near to delivering two million passengers at Shannon and is using the tax as an excuse to cut back on its services.

Shannon Airport Authority said it as been in discussions with Ryanair since the airline first warned of a reduction of services when the tax was initially announced. It said Ryanair has committed to a contractual arrangement with Shannon and it expects the airline to honour that agreement.

“The airline availed of an extremely attractive based aircraft incentive scheme, which was available to all carriers. This [began] in 2005 and as part of the contract, Ryanair agreed to deliver two million passengers in the fifth year of operating its base here,” a Shannon Airport spokesman said.

“Ryanair is an extremely valued carrier at Shannon Airport. The airline has made a very significant contribution to the local economy and we will continue to support its services here in whatever way we can so that they will maintain a sustainable network of services for our customers long into the future,” he said.

However, Ryanair is expected to cut its fleet at Shannon from six planes to five in the summer and to two in the winter.

Labour senator Alan Kelly said any moves by Ryanair to cut services at Shannon would be “tantamount to kicking the midwest region when it is already on its knees.

Any reduction in services would represent another blow for the midwest, a place which government seems to have forgotten.”

Elsewhere Ryanair said it is negotiating with Boeing and Airbus about buying as many 400 short-haul aircraft.

It said it is hoping to take advantage of any decline in aircraft prices. It currently operates a fleet of 181 Boeing 737-800s.

Figures yesterday showed the airline carried 11% more passengers in January from a year earlier.

Meanwhile, Aer Lingus said following BMIBaby’s recent announcement of the withdrawal of its Cork to Birmingham route and Ryanair’s termination of its Cork to East Midlands route, it is reaffirming its commitment to services between Cork and Birmingham International Airport.

Deputy chief executive Niall Walsh said this demonstrates the airline’s continued commitment to the Cork region.