Airport debt meeting 'very positive'

AN emergency meeting between Transport Minister Martin Cullen and the Cork Airport Authority (CAA) on the subject of the airport's €80 million debt was described last night as having been very positive.

The dispute as to who was going to pick up the tab for Cork Airport's new terminal, due to be opened in May is, nonetheless, a long way from being resolved.

After yesterday's meeting, a spokesman for the minister said no milestones had been passed and the matter was still up for discussion.

Last night, with reluctance on both sides to reveal any fine detail about the talks, a spokesperson for the CAA said the meeting had been constructive.

"It was a very positive meeting with the minister at which we outlined our position clearly," the spokesperson said.

"We will be engaging in further talks with the minister and his department in the coming weeks."

There was still hope of finding a workable solution to the airport's financial ills, but for the present, the authority was not prepared to make any further comment.

The likelihood of increasing costs for travellers using Cork Airport loomed ever larger this week.

The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), which replaced Aer Rianta as the State company overseeing Dublin, Cork and Shannon, said the proposed separation of Cork and Shannon would be threatened if airport charges remained static.

The DAA also warned that Cork Airport's independence would be further threatened by the reluctance of the CAA to shoulder the debt associated with the new terminal.

DAA chairman Gary McGann said Cork should pay its own debt, comments which were understood to have fuelled yesterday's debate.

Despite rising passenger numbers at Dublin, Shannon and Cork, the authority warned that it would take at least another year to break up the State's three airports.

Figures released by the company this week show passenger traffic growing at all three airports, with Dublin up 8%, Shannon up 38% and Cork up 21%. For the group, the number of passengers was up to 24.4 million, a 12.4% rise.

The break-up of the airport authority was first mooted by former Transport Minister Seamus Brennan and was provided for in the State Airports Act 2004.

The DAA said it needed about €300m of distributable reserves before the airports could be split up, with present reserves standing at just €141m.

The establishment of a debt-free Cork Airport and a separation of Cork could not be achieved given the current level of reserves, the DAA has stated.