Call for Competition Authority to probe €10 airport tax

THE Competition Authority was yesterday called on to investigate the €10 government ticket tax being levelled on passengers when they travel out of Irish airports following a warning from Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary that it would kill his airline’s growing business at Shannon.

With the exception of Liverpool, the full charge will be levied on all of Shannon’s routes.

A huge percentage of Dublin airport passengers will only pay a reduced €2 tax as many Dublin destinations to British airports are less than the permitted 300kms away. The lower tax applies to fights within the so-called domestic radius.

Labour’s Jan O’Sullivan contacted the Competition Authority after Mr O’Leary sounded a dire warning in an interview with the Irish Examiner.

And the chief executive of Limerick Chamber of Commerce Maria Kelly said one airport cannot be given an advantage over another. She said: “We are hoping the Government will look at this again — as there is stuff going on in the background. Shannon has to have a level playing pitch with Dublin. Anything that would put Shannon at a disadvantage will have a serious effect.”

Six weeks ago, prior to the budget ticket tax levy announcement, Mr O’Leary gave details of a further expansion of Ryanair flights out of Shannon with a sixth aircraft being based there.

Mr O’Leary said if the €10 ticket tax goes ahead at Shannon, they will reduce passenger numbers of 1.9 million projected for the year ending April 2009, to 750,000 in following years. Shannon is now hugely dependent on Ryanair business given total passenger numbers for 2008 will be in the region of 3.2 million.

Ms O’Sullivan said having different taxes for different airports was anti-competitive and must be challenged. “It is unfair that Shannon passengers going to the UK have to pay €8 more than those travelling to the same airports from Dublin... This must be in breach of competition rules and I would appeal to Michael O’Leary not to pull out and the Government must revisit this ticket tax as a matter of urgency and restore equality between Shannon and Dublin.”