Government urged to acquire GB Airways' Heathrow slots

The Government is being urged to help retain the Shannon-Heathrow service by bidding for four pairs of London Heathrow slots that have today been put up for sale by a London Gatwick-based airline.

GB Airways is to sell the slots, which were excluded from EasyJet's £103.5m (€147.5m) acquisition of the carrier this week. The Airline has declared its intention to sell the slots before January 31 2008. Aer Lingus, meanwhile, is due to cease operating flights between Shannon and Heathrow from January 14 2008.

According to Mayor of Clare and Atlantic Connectivity Alliance member Cllr Patricia McCarthy: "The slots owned by GB Airways are prime slots at Heathrow. This sale of slots represents a significant opportunity for the Government to play an active role in ensuring the retention of services between Shannon and Heathrow."

She added: "The Government has publicly stated that it will do all that it can to ensure Shannon Airport holds on to its strategic link with Heathrow. Therefore, it should now immediately express its interest in these slots by whatever means necessary, as they are likely to be the subject of intense interest."

The call by Mayor McCarthy follows less than 24 hours after the Atlantic Connectivity Alliance received confirmation that its application for slots at Heathrow has been rejected by Airport Co-Ordination Limited, the authority responsible for slot allocation and schedule facilitation at all major airports in the UK.