Heathrow routes at risk if takeover goes ahead, says chamber boss

Aer Lingus and Ryanair’s 90% dominant position at Cork Airport poses a threat to the airport’s Heathrow routes in a takeover situation, Cork Chamber warned yesterday.

Cork Chamber president John Mullins said a successful takeover of Aer Lingus by Ryanair is a matter of major concern to the chamber, who said the organisation would be focusing on the development of traffic through the airport in the coming months.

“Aer Lingus and Ryanair control 90% of the traffic through Cork Airport. It is a major worry that the Heathrow slots to Cork could disappear in a takeover situation.”

Mr Mullins said business travellers out of Cork were using Heathrow and Amsterdam as hubs for onward travel to vital markets in the US and the Far East. In the event of a takeover of Aer Lingus, these connections must be protected and ringfenced, he said.

Speaking at a Cork Chamber breakfast briefing in association with the Irish Examiner, Mr Mullins said he also had major concerns of price competition out of Cork if one airline controlled 90% of the market.

He also said the chamber was worried about fresh competition for Cork when Shannon becomes an independent airport from the DAA, which controls Cork and Shannon.

“We need an independent Cork Airport. It is not good enough that crucial decisions on the future of Cork Airport are taken in an office in Dublin,” he added.

Speaking at the same briefing, the founder of the Irish Technology Leadership Group in Silicon Valley, John Hartnett, said a direct route from San Francisco to Ireland was urgently required.

Mr Hartnett said 40% of all direct investment from the US into Ireland came from the West Coast. He said it can take as long as 19 hours to get to Ireland from there: “This is not just a problem for Aer Lingus. This is a problem for Ireland and the Government needs to do something about it.”