Government is reneging on its promise to airport and passengers

WHEN Ryanair makes a threat, it carries it out. Earlier this week it promised to axe some of its nine routes out of Cork Airport if charges went up, and within hours the low-budget airline delivered on its threat.

It announced on Wednesday that three of its seven flights to Liverpool were to go.

It’s a pity the Government is not as determined as Ryanair when it comes to taking action.

While Sports and Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue was refused a seat on one of Ryanair's services out of Cork last Sunday over his lack of the necessary photo ID, his local airport is to benefit from this latest decision by the airline.

The three flights with their 20,000 passengers annually that Cork is losing are going to Kerry Airport, so the Minister can smile quietly to himself.

A spokesman for the Minister refused to comment on him being left behind other than to say Mr O’Donoghue was not unduly upset.

With hindsight, it’s not surprising.

There are many others, however, who have every right to be upset at the Ryanair move because it had been predicted even before the airline made the announcement.

The prediction had been made because of what appears to be an incredible U-turn on the part of the Government in relation to the debt-free status of Cork Airport.

At the moment it would appear to be lumbered with the cost of the new terminal and facilities due to open at a cost variously estimated to be between €160m and €200m.

Realistically, there is an acceptance that it will probably be caught for about half that, somewhere in the region of €80m, which, of course would still constitute the abandonment of the Government promise - but nobody is saying that too loudly.

Three years ago, having promised that both Cork and Shannon would be without debt when the break-up of Aer Rianta was mooted, the Government is now unashamedly trying to back out of that promise. If it succeeds in doing so, Cork and the greater Munster region will be the losers - big time. This week’s decision by Ryanair will entail an estimated loss in revenue to the region of between €8m and €13m even before the new terminal is opened. The airport, which last year had almost three million passengers, is down 20,000.

It may even get worse as the reason given by Ryanair is that increased costs will add €30,000 every year to its costs, thus making the airport uncompetitive against its peer airports throughout Europe.

It also warned that if the Government insists that Cork Airport is to charge a premium for its services, then it will lose out on the hundreds of thousands of passengers which it and other airlines have brought to the region.

The management at the airport, although expressing disappointment at Ryanair’s decision to reduce its Cork-to-Liverpool service, seemed rather sanguine about it.

Its chief executive, Pat Keohane defended the introduction of price increases, which he described as only amounting to one cent extra on each Ryanair passenger going through the airport.

The authority has already warned that huge hikes will be necessary if the airport has to shoulder the debt.

The way the Government treats Cork Airport is ridiculous - all Enterprise Minister Mícheál Martin was able to say was that the airport has no debt at the moment, therefore it “could not have an impact on current operating costs”.

In respect of the Ryanair move, he felt “other agendas were afoot”.

I presume he means that there is some reason other than the level of charges for cutting back on their Cork service to Liverpool.

Mícheál Martin has previously been quoted as saying: “My bottom line will be to ensure that whatever happens is not responsible for increasing Cork Airport charges. I would not agree with anything that undermines the viability of the airport going forward.”

IN the meantime, because of Government intransigence and delays on that very issue, the CAA hasn’t a clue whether it’s going to be facing any debt, €80m, €160m or €200m.

One explanation may be that this Government has never been put out about escalating costs (remember PPARS) and is adopting a similar attitude in this case - namely, that the taxpayers will ultimately pay the bill.

It may well be asked why, if the airport is currently free of debt as Mícheál Martin said, the management is increasing fees.

A total of 38 recent price increases, including a 300% rise in the rental charge for check-in desks, would set Ryanair back somewhere in the region of €30,000, and that’s why it is moving three of its flights to Kerry.

According to Ryanair, the cost per passenger into Cork is €18.39 and CAA gets €15.

I don’t know if they’re comparing like with like, but they said that the cost per passenger is €1 per passenger at Shannon and the deal with Kerry Airport is even better.

Cork Airport Authority looks like it may have to come up with the money, at least judging from the arrogance of the current Transport Minister Martin Cullen. Not alone has he rejected the guarantee that Dublin should pay off the Cork Airport debt, he gives the impression that it’s a recent notion.

It is no such thing.

His predecessor, Seamus Brennan, promised in 2003 that the airport would be debt-free once it became independent of Dublin and nothing has changed since then apart from the Government’s word.

At the moment, the bill for the new terminal is being looked at by a firm of consultants and it seems very likely that on foot of the outcome of that, the Government will be able to wriggle out of its original commitment to the airport.

In that regard Mr Cullen made a very telling remark.

“I’m not sure that all of the debt from Cork should be loaded on the passengers at Dublin Airport,” said the Minister who has refused to meet Cork’s political representatives for a meeting on the issue.

It’s time, I think, that the management at Cork Airport started to look after the cents.