Ryanair slams hike in charges at Shannon.

RYANAIR has slammed new travel charge increases at Shannon which the airline claims will further erode its passenger figures.

Ryanair branded the increase as “crazy” during a year when it said the airport’s traffic is on track to fall from 2.7 million to less than 1.7 million.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary called on the Department of Transport to order the DAA to reverse the price hike.

“At a time when Shannon Airport should be lowering costs, particularly entering the winter, the airport has announced a crazy plan to raise passenger fees by 33%.

“This will further damage Shannon’s traffic and tourism business, since price sensitive passengers simply won’t pay these unjustified price hikes,” he said.

Fine Gael deputy finance spokesperson Kieran O’Donnell said the increase of €1.58 per passenger would make the airport even less competitive.

“It does not take a rocket scientist to see that Shannon Airport needs to become more competitive and that increasing passenger charges will only make it less competitive,” he said.

Figures from the Commissioner for Aviation Regulation show the number of flights through Shannon Airport was down a further 28% last month compared to July 2009.

“At a time when a coherent government policy is needed for Shannon Airport, the Transport Minister Noel Dempsey and the Government is instead doing nothing to help the position of the airport and the mid-west,” Mr O’Donnell said.

He said it is now over a year since Denis Brosnan’s Mid-West Jobs Taskforce Report stated that Shannon is a key driver of industry, tourism and economic development for Limerick and the mid-west, and needs to be strategically supported.

Mr O’Donnell said the report called for “a marketing strategy for Shannon Airport, backed up by a dedicated fund which should be a priority for government”.

He said of €53m sought in a 2006 development plan only €6m has been delivered since 2008. “The €10 travel tax is still in place, and while the Government is building a rail link for Dublin Airport, nobody in cabinet has any intention of doing something similar for Shannon to Limerick.”

He said: “Meanwhile, the Live Register in Limerick increased by 1,453 people to 23,148 between July 2009 and July 2010. Over 70%, 16,490 of these people, are in Limerick city.”