Ryanair: ‘Hanger 6 jobs’ gone to other EU airports
The airline is expected to finalise a deal on a new maintenance facility at one of their existing bases at Milan, Frankfurt or Madrid.
The company announced last month that 200 of the positions were being located at Prestwick Airport in Glasgow. Ryanair had offered to base the 300 remaining jobs at Dublin Airport if the Government assisted the airline in acquiring Hangar Six which is currently occupied by Aer Lingus.
The announcement appears to bring an end to the highly publicised row between the Government and Ryanair chief Michael O’Leary.
The fallout sparked a major political storm amidst claims and counter-claims concerning Ryanair’s motives for acquiring the hangar.
Ryanair spokesman Stephen McNamara yesterday confirmed the airline is pressing ahead with talks with two airports in mainland Europe to create 300 jobs at an overseas engineering facility.
“The refusal to sell or lease Hangar Six to Ryanair in 2009 proves that this Government prefers to protect the Dublin Airport Authority monopoly who subsequently allowed Aer Lingus to move into the facility, an airline with no heavy maintenance in Ireland and no use for such a large hangar, and which is cutting up to 900 jobs,” he said.
Mr McNamara said the airline would finalise a deal with other European governments and airports describing the Irish Government as “dithering and incompetent”.
“Ryanair will now move to finalise a deal with one of the other European Governments and airports who are interested in securing these engineering jobs and are working with Ryanair to sustain investment and jobs at their airports instead of waffling on about the ‘complexities’ and ‘barriers’ to job creation like Ireland’s dithering and incompetent Government,” he said.
Fine Gael transport spokesman Fergus O’Dowd described the decision as Enterprise Minister Mary Coughlan’s and Transport Minister Noel Dempsey’s “biggest ever cock-up” and a tragedy for the former SR Technics staff.
“This is a tragedy for the hundreds of former SR Technics staff. Thanks to the Government’s utter incompetence, these highly skilled staff have seen the chance of new jobs slip from their grasp,” he said.
