Belfast news report that ‘accelerated’ route move

ON MAY 22, a story appeared in the business section of the Belfast newspaper The Irish News that went almost unnoticed in the South.

It stated that Aer Lingus could be about to start a service from Belfast, saying that executives from the airline were in the North’s capital to discuss having three aircraft based there and opening up 15 new routes.

One was to be a new service between Belfast and Heathrow Airport.

The article almost caught Aer Lingus management on the hop. Worried that further media reports would compromise the efforts to establish a first base outside the Republic, the airline “accelerated” its decision.

It was around this time that a principal officer from the Department of Transport spoke with a senior manager from Aer Lingus about this. After the conversation, he drafted a “Note for the minister’s information” on June 13, 2007.

It pointed out that if the new service was started it would mean the cessation of Shannon to Heathrow services. No concern was expressed in the note about the implications of that for the mid-west.

In an unprecedented move, the department also released a “contextual note” with the memo, when releasing documents to the Irish Examiner under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act. The note — obviously prepared in the last few weeks — insisted that the June memo had never been forwarded to the minister. Of course, this is crucial. For the decision dominated the news agenda during August and put the Government firmly on the back foot.

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey found himself under attack from his own FF backbenchers and from Cabinet colleague Willie O’Dea.

When the controversy first broke, Mr Dempsey said that the first time he had become aware of it formally was when he met Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion and chairman John Sharman on August 3.

When Mr O’Dea arrived back from his holiday a week later, he condemned Aer Lingus for foisting the decision on the Government when all ministers were away on holidays.

“Dermot Mannion can’t come along on a bank holiday on Monday and turn into a latterday Oliver Cromwell,” he famously said.

But the Freedom of Information Act documents disclose that Transport officials at the highest level were aware of the situation almost two months beforehand. An assistant secretary of the department actually phoned Mr Mannion of Aer Lingus upon receiving the memo on June 13.

Though no concern was expressed about the implications for Shannon in the June memo, the “contextual note” included in the FOI documents suggests that the assistant secretary expressed those concerns to Mr Mannion in June.

The Government also underestimated the fallout and the extent of the crisis. It was exacerbated by an intervention by Ryanair, which upped its stake by 4% in Aer Lingus to become its biggest shareholder.

It also tested the truth of the Government’s concern by inviting it to back its call for an extraordinary general meeting to reverse the decision. Mr Dempsey refused, saying he would not assist Aer Lingus’s biggest competitor. In mid-August, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern intervened for the first time to announce he had set up a high-level inquiry into the implications of the Shannon pull-out. The Cabinet received that report at its first meeting in September. The Government said it would not try to reverse the decision, but would work to find an alternative service.

But that was dealt a blow when British airline bmi announced it would not fly to Shannon from Heathrow. On September 27, the new Government narrowly survived a Dáil vote challenging the policy, following a debate on Shannon.

TIMELINE

how Shannon controversy emerged

February, 2007 — Media reports are published that Aer Lingus may establish a new base in Belfast.

June 13, 2007 — Senior manager at Aer Lingus informs the Department of Transport that the planned opening of a Belfast hub will result in the closure of the Shannon-Heathrow service.

June 13, 2007 — Assistant Secretary at the Department of Transport John Murphy contacts Aer Lingus chief executive Dermot Mannion to express concern about the implications of the opening of a Belfast base on Shannon.

June 13, 2007 — Department of Transport official seeks information on number of passengers using Shannon-Heathrow route from Dublin Airport Authority.

July 27, 2007 — The Government is formally notified that the Shannon-Heathrow will be affected by the decision to open a base in Belfast.

August 3, 2007 — Transport Minister Noel Dempsey has a private meeting with Mr Mannion and Aer Lingus chairman John Sharman at Shanahan’s restaurant in Dublin to discuss the controversy.

August 7, 2007 — Aer Lingus publicly announces the opening of its Belfast base. Airline workers at Shannon are informed that jobs may be lost as a result of the closure of the Shannon-Heathrow route.

August 9, 2007 — IBEC warns that up to 20 major companies in the mid-west will be seriously affected by the decision.

August 10, 2007 — Business interests warn that more than 50,000 tourists a year and tens of millions of euro in investment will be lost.

August 10, 2007 — Fianna Fáil TDs criticise Government’s failure to comment on growing controversy, while Defence Minister Willie O’Dea accuses Mr Mannion of acting like a “latterday Oliver Cromwell”.

August 10, 2007 — Minister Dempsey issues his first formal statement on the issue.

August 13, 2007 — Minister O’Dea says the Government will do everything to persuade Aer Lingus to reverse its decision.

August 16, 2007 — The Government says it would be inappropriate to intervene in the decision-making process of Aer Lingus.

And you can quote me on that: Who said what

“We must move quickly to ensure either that Aer Lingus continues to serve the Shannon-Heathrow route, or target another carrier to take up this attractive base of 350,000 passengers and build on it.”

— Junior minister Tony Killeen.

“I’m hoping we can convey to Aer Lingus management exactly how much damage their decision is going to do, not just to the mid-west but by extension, to the economy as a whole, and persuade them to change their minds.”

— Willie O’Dea again in August.

“Ryanair has asked Aer Lingus to call an EGM and we will be asking the trade unions and Bertie Ahern’s Government to support this motion calling for Shannon’s four daily flights to Heathrow to be maintained.”

— Michael O’Leary adds fuel to the fire.

“If, as a last resort, it comes to an EGM and the problem isn’t resolved, then obviously the Government should use its votes to ensure the connectivity between Shannon and the rest of the world is maintained.”

— Willie O’Dea’s wishful thinking.

“Aer Lingus announced this in a sneaky way when the management of Aer Lingus knew the Cabinet was not meeting. The reason why there is this perception of the Government not being on top of the situation is because it was announced, deliberately, at an unfortunate time for the Government.

“We are just getting a few days’ holiday. We had a Cabinet meeting at the end of July and will have another one in two weeks’ time. Aer Lingus knew this was the one time in the year when the Cabinet would not be meeting so why did it not announce this before the last meeting or in two weeks’ time?”

— Defence Minister Willie O’Dea responding to an Irish Examiner opinion poll that showed 73% of voters were dissatisfied with the Government’s handling of the unfolding crisis.