Regional airports under threat as Bord Snip urges end to public service routes

THE future of regional airports such as Kerry, Galway and Donegal are again in the spotlight after the Bord Snip report said they should no longer benefit from state funding.

The report recommended the ending of the public service obligation (PSO) routes which are mostly operated by Aer Arann and bring €15 million to regional airports. It also recommended the ending of the €2m operational grant for the six airports, mostly based along the west coast, when the current round ends in 2010.

The report by economist Colm McCarthy also said the Government should reduce capital grants of between €4m and €27m promised for the regional airports in 2007 and due to be provided for building projects this year. The recommendations place regional airports under an increasing threat of closure.

In February, Transport Minister Noel Dempsey said the state subsidies could “no longer be justified” and the PSO system would be reviewed next year. The McCarthy report said the continued support of the loss-making air services were “unsustainable” and proposed that “after expiry of the present contracts this scheme be discontinued”.

The report said: “The group understands... regional airports have traditionally served a regional development purpose. However, the group also notes that in many instances the Exchequer is backing the provision of the other new, much improved transport links such as rail and roads to the same locations.” In making its recommendation to end PSOs it also considered “the Government’s developing climate change agenda and commitments under current and future international emissions agreements”.

The present round of PSO subsidies ends in 2011.

The routes are the lifeline of regional airports and a report by DKM consultants last year found all six would have to close down without them. Aer Arann yesterday called on the Government to reject the Bord Snip proposals, saying the airports sustain hundreds of jobs directly and indirectly and are “a key part of the socio-economic fabric of life in the regions”. In a statement, the airline said Ireland has a lower level of PSO routes than, for example, France, which has 160.

It said the recommendation was “a flawed financial assessment driven by an absolute desire to cut spending with no economic impact study of the full financial cost in terms of job losses and the removal of infrastructure necessary to assist economic growth”.

The statement said: “While some road and rail services have improved there are still north-south and east-west routes where air transport is required to support... economic development. Industry and business in the regions should not be discriminated against and they need... the same access to international air services from a hub airport like Dublin as that enjoyed by Dublin business people.

“Similarly, the people living in the regions have the same entitlement to do a day’s work in Dublin or to connect to international services from Dublin... without the inconvenience and high cost of several hours of ground transport,” it said.