280 airport jobs face threat

AT least 280 jobs are at risk in Galway, Waterford and Sligo airports.

The Government no longer has the money to fund the losses of all six regional airports, according to Transport Minister Leo Varadkar, and those that are most viable as businesses — Knock, Kerry and Donegal — will be given priority for funding.

“At the end of the year, when the airport loses money they come to the Government and the Government writes them a cheque for that, and that’s not sustainable in the future. What we are going to have to do very quickly, over the next year or so, is to phase out funding for airports that are not able to sustain themselves,” said Mr Varadkar.