Cork Airport 'may be leased to local management’

A consultants' study has reportedly found that Cork Airport may have to be leased out to local management rather than established as an independent entity in competition with Dublin Airport.

Reports this morning said the PriceWaterhouseCoopers study highlighted the lease plan as a way to avoid depleting the reserves of the new Dublin Airport authority under the Government’s plans to break up Aer Rianta.

The study reportedly found that transferring the debts of Cork and Shannon Airports to the new Dublin Airport company could have serious implications in the short and medium term.

It also warns that Shannon Airport could lose up to €30m in its first five years as an independent entity.