Kerry Airport hopes for many flights to restart this summer but sees long route to recovery

Airport said it was hoping to resume many flights to the UK and the rest of Europe this summer after Ryanair took over the Dublin-Kerry route following the collapse of Stobart Air

Ryanair last month said it would step in after the collapse of Stobart Air threatened the future of the Kerry-Dublin route operated for Aer Lingus as a public service obligation route with aid from the Government. File picture

Kerry Airport said it was hoping to resume many flights from the airport to the UK and the rest of Europe this summer after Ryanair took over the Dublin-Kerry route following the collapse of Stobart Air. 

It comes as the airport unveiled 2020 financial results that showed the fallout from the the Covid-19 crisis, with turnover sliding to €3.4m from €8.6m in 2019.

It posted a pre-tax loss of €189,960 – compared with a profit of €1.2m the previous year – which also takes account of a previously-announced investment loss of almost €306,000 the airport took on a €1.5m multi-year market investment at the onset of the Covid-19 crisis last year.   

The market loss was reported by the Irish Examiner in November but the latest accounts give few further details about the nature of the unusual investment. 

Ryanair last month said it would step in after the collapse of Stobart Air threatened the future of the Kerry-Dublin route operated for Aer Lingus as a public service obligation route with aid from the Government.

Quadruple capacity

Ryanair has said it would quadruple capacity on the route by using a Boeing 737-800 jet but without drawing down the Government subsidy. Meanwhile, the airport is talking to airlines on potential new routes for 2022, it said.            

Kerry Airport chief executive John Mulhern, in the accounts, acknowledged the levels of public grant aid the company has received but added that more Government support would likely be required "in 2021 and beyond" as it anticipates further losses and the costs of keeping its aerodrome licence.  

"Most commentators continue to predict that air travel will not return to 2019 levels until at least 2023," he wrote.   

The airport received a total of €1.8m from the Department of Transport in 2020, up from €1.27m the previous year, according to the accounts.