Ryanair will not add summer routes to Cork over high charges

Ryanair has added no new routes to its Cork Airport summer schedule and said the airport will continue to struggle unless it cuts landing charges.

The airline confirmed that, while there would be “no new routes” out of Cork this summer — it would operate 18 routes and carry 750,000 passengers through the struggling airport. Ryanair announced two new routes out of Shannon Airport, increasing passenger numbers by 18% and ensuring that it will carry more passengers than Cork in 2015.

Speaking in Cork, Ryanair’s chief marketing officer, Kenny Jacobs, said despite reducing services, its share of traffic from Cork airport had increased since 2008, so the problem lay with Cork Airport and its charges.

“Cork Airport charges us the same that we get charged for landing customers in Dublin Airport,” said Mr Jacobs.

“It doesn’t work like that across Europe. Manchester Airport doesn’t look for the same charges as an airport in London. But Cork’s charges are the same as Dublin’s, they are higher than Lisbon’s, they are higher than Malaga.

It needs to get its charges on existing routes down so that we and other airlines can make it more viable to run more routes out of Cork. That will push that traffic number in Cork back up to where it once was.”

Passenger numbers have fallen at Cork airport from a peak of 3.25m in 2008 to an expected 2m this year and is burdened with well over €100m of debt.

Dublin Airport and Shannon Airport have seen significant increases in recent years. Shannon’s revival is largely down to the Government’s decision in 2012 to separate it from the Dublin Airport Authority and write off its €100m debt burden.

Cork Chamber chief executive Conor Healy said that while it was welcome that existing routes were being largely maintained, it was clear that action needed to be taken to arrest the decline of the country’s second largest airport.

“Clearly Cork is at a competitive disadvantage as a result of direct government intervention at Shannon which has resulted in it being able to offer deals to Ryanair and other airlines,” said Mr Healy. “Effectively Cork Airport is trying to compete with one hand behind its back as the Government directly supports Shannon and ignores the needs of Cork Airport.”

Shannon Group CEO Neil Pakey said the addition of two routes was a clear vote of confidence in the airport. “The fact that it [Ryanair] is coming back with 19 destinations, greater frequencies than last year and planning to grow passengers by up to 18% shows that its confidence was well placed,” he said.