Cork Airport needs access to state funding for Regional Airports - daa

Cork Airport is facing into losses of €20 million this year

Cork Airport should have access to the Regional Airport OpEx and Capital Funding Programmes, the Oireachtas Transport Committee has heard.

Speaking to the Transport Committee this morning, Dalton Philips, CEO of daa, which owns and operates Cork Airport, said the airport was Ireland’s fastest-growing airport in 2019 and was on course to be so again in 2020.

“Instead, over half of its airlines have withdrawn, traffic is down 90% and it is facing into losses of €20 million this year.” 

Mr Dalton said it was vital Cork Airport be admitted to the existing regional airports CapEx and OpEx funding schemes until traffic levels have recovered to pre-COVID levels.

In compliance with EU Guidelines on State Aid, Ireland’s smallest airports (less than 1 million per year) can receive assistance from the government in the form of a number of different funding schemes including the Regional Airports Capital Expenditure Grant (CapEx) Scheme and the Core Airport Management Operational Expenditure (OpEx) Scheme.

The CapEx scheme can provide funding of up to 75% of total eligible costs for capital investments relating to economic activities of the airport while the OpEx scheme can compensate for up to 80% of the ‘operating funding gap’ relating to the economic activities of the airport for airports handling up to 700,000 passengers annually.

Donegal, Kerry, Ireland West Airport Knock (IWAK) and Waterford Airports all receive state assistance, with a total of €23.9m afforded to the four airports between 2015 - 2018 under various funding schemes.

Mr Philips said the Covid-19 pandemic has led to Cork Airport requiring access to the OpEx and CapEx funds.

He said the aviation sector has been “demonised” since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic and have been held to “a much higher and quite frankly unreasonable standard” with regards to restrictions on international travel.

“Other key sectors have been allowed to re-open with the understanding and acceptance that there is an element of risk involved,” he said.

“Ireland’s connectivity to the world is faltering,” he warned, adding it was dangerous to assume that routes withdrawn in the last six months will “simply re-emerge overnight.” 

“In football terms, we hauled ourselves into the Premiership over the last two to three years, but we’ve just been relegated again."

Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson. Picture Garrett White 

Ryanair CEO Eddie Wilson also appeared before the Oireachtas Transport Committee this morning and said he was “not hopeful” that the airline would retain their bases at Cork and Shannon Airports this winter.

“We’re flying out people from some of the regional airports with five or six passengers - that can’t continue,” he said.