County council wants old airport terminal to be sold to airline

COUNTY councillors are expected to put pressure on Cork Airport management to lease or sell-off the old terminal on the site to a low-cost airline.

It is expected they will unanimously back a proposal which will be brought before the council in a fortnight’s time by Cllr Christopher O’Sullivan in an attempt to increase traffic at the airport.

The FF councillor said having the terminal lying idle was doing nobody any good and the airport should be trying to make money out of it, especially as they have incurred a huge debt building the new one.

“Ryanair, for instance, flies to approximately 121 destinations out of Dublin. In comparison, it flies to 16 destinations out of Cork, nine of which are to sun spots. It’s estimated that just 10 extra flights connecting the city with the main population centres of mainland Europe and Britain would bring in 2,000 extra passengers per week,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

“At an average spend of €500 per passenger per week, this could create additional cash flow to the region of €1 million per week during the peak season.”

Mr O’Sullivan is to table the motion at the request of Clonakilty Town Council. It is expected more town councils will lend their weight to the call.

Mayor of Clonakilty, Cllr John Loughnane said the county council had invested in the new Cork-Swansea ferry as it could see the potential of increasing tourism.

“The old terminal is a fine building and getting a low-cost carrier to use it would only benefit the Cork region,” the mayor said. He said such a move would fit in nicely with the recently published Programme for Government which identified that tourism was a key area for economic recovery.

Meanwhile, Mr O’Sullivan said, in 2008, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary wanted to take over the old terminal.

“Having their own terminals has worked very well for the company in other parts of Europe. Ryanair is the most successful airline model in the world, but we would also encourage other low-cost carriers to look at the terminal.

Mr O’Sullivan said if the motion was passed, the council would begin writing letters to the parties involved.