Eighteen former lords mayor of Cork have expressed “profound concerns” about the possible abolition of the city council as part of a major overhaul of the region’s local government structures.

18 lord mayor have set aside party politics to unite against a super council and to spark public debate, says Eoin English

People in the south-west have been urged to give more support to Kerry Airport where passenger numbers dropped last year by 4% to 295,251.

Tourism stakeholders in Cork city and county were yesterday urged by a leading airline industry figure to get behind Cork Airport.

Passenger numbers at Kerry Airport fell slightly in 2014, according to the regional airport’s results announced yesterday.

Aer Lingus Regional operator, Stobart Air has added Irish regional airline, CityJet to its growing list of franchise partners.

Passenger numbers from Kerry Airport to Dublin have increased by 22% in the second half of this year compared to the same period in 2012, with November being particularly busy, showing an increase of 27% on last year.

Former taoiseach Brian Cowen and Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin were among hundreds of mourners who gathered yesterday to pay tribute at the funeral of former minister Noel Davern, who died suddenly at the weekend.

A serious drop in passenger numbers since the recession set in and the need to attract new airlines and markets were highlighted yesterday as key challenges for Kerry Airport.

Kerry Airport made a tiny operating profit last year, but passenger numbers dropped by 8%, according to the company’s annual report and accounts for the year ending Dec 31 last.

A withdrawal of a government subsidy on the Kerry /Dublin route could threaten the survival of Kerry Airport, the airport’s AGM was told yesterday.

The withdrawal of the Government-financed public service obligation from Kerry Airport has resulted in a 19% decrease in passenger numbers and a €3m fall in revenues.

THE first subsidised regional flights in just over a year between Kerry and Dublin resumed yesterday with the launch of the Aer Arann schedule from Farranfore.

THERE is intense competition to operate Government-funded flights between Kerry and Dublin it emerged last night with several operators submitting tenders to run twice daily services.

KERRY Airport, supported by political, business and tourism interests in the county, is to step up its campaign to have the subsidised service on the Kerry to Dublin route restored in July.

HUNDREDS of workers have been hit with a hammer blow for the new year as a spate of job losses was announced across the country yesterday.

TWENTY of the 65 staff at Kerry Airport are to lose their jobs in the wake of controversial cuts in services by Ryanair on the government-backed Kerry to Dublin route.

Kerry Airport has announced it is seeking 20 redundancies from its staff of 65.

RYANAIR chief Michael O’Leary is due in Kerry today and is expected to spell out the reasons for his airline’s major reduction in services on the Kerry to Dublin route.

Two airports find themselves pawns in Ryanair’s battle, writes Donal Hickey

KERRY AIRPORT yesterday reported an 11% fall in passenger numbers to 371,796, with reductions on all routes last year due to the recession.

KERRY Airport had a 6% drop in out-going passengers for the eight months to the end of June, the company’s chairman Denis Cregan told its annual general meeting yesterday.

SHE’S the 4’6” platinum blonde with the razor-sharp wit who has become a best-selling novelist by transporting hardened criminals, prostitutes, and their violent, blood-streaked lives directly into our living rooms.

KERRY AIRPORT will be looking closely at its cost base as the company’s operating profit for 2008 is down 16% on the previous year.

KERRY Airport, which last year had a slight drop in passenger numbers, is falling behind in relation to charter services, the airport’s annual general meeting has heard.

KERRY Airport managed to increase pre-tax profits by 17% despite the withdrawal of a €400,000 government marketing grant.

CORK’S city manager is to investigate claims that clampers are deliberately targeting out-of-town vehicles.

A COFFEE shop being built as part of the multi-million euro revamp of Cork’s Grand Parade has been branded a “monstrosity”.

HUGH Friel’s impending departure from Kerry Group at the end of this year will be a another watershed for the group.

A MONUMENT designed to honour a generation of Irish emigrants has been branded a waste of public money.

CORK’S city councillors were under fire last nightafter they voted againstrezoning a site for a new gaelscoil.

CORK’S “aggressive” car clamping regime is portraying a bad image of the city, politicians have said.

BERTIE AHERN yesterday set a new speed record for entering and leaving a pub.

THOUGH passenger numbers at Kerry Airport have risen by almost 100,000 in the past two years, airport board chairman Denis Cregan says passenger growth is still not satisfactory.

KERRY Group’s top executives pocketed over €5 million last year, the company’s annual report reveals.

A CITY quay is to be transformed into a unique monument of sound honouring a generation of Cork emigrants.

TWO local authority land deals for controversial private housing projects, which could boost city coffers by almost €7 million, could be blocked tonight.

AER Arann will operate a twice-weekly service from Kerry to Lorient in south Brittany from next March.

RYANAIR and CityJet have joined in a three-way fight to try to prise a €5 million-a-year State subsidy for operating the Kerry-Dublin air route from Aer Arann.

KERRY AIRPORT is in discussions with US charter companies to target potential travellers in Boston and New York with direct flights to Kerry in 2005.

KERRY GROUP is one of the thoroughbreds in the corporate field but its loyal fans are beginning to wonder if its glory days are over.

PRE-TAX profits at Kerry Airport increased by 425% in 2002 as cash reserves hit €2.3 million and the company is on target to make even bigger profits in the current year.