Airport ‘must not suffer in open skies deal’

TRANSPORT Minister Martin Cullen will not be able to negotiate with US airlines to over-fly Shannon before the EU reaches agreement on an open skies deal, according to the European Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot.

In a letter to Fine Gael Senator and MEP Jim Higgins, Mr Barrot said: “The transitional period foreseen for Shannon Airport will commence as and from the date that full agreement has been reached and Open Skies is in operation.”

Mr Higgins said this prevents Mr Cullen to coming to an agreement with the US that would undermine Shannon.

All bilateral air traffic deals including that between Ireland and the US are to be scrapped under new arrangements between the EU and the US that will open up the market to competition on both sides of the Atlantic.

The deals restricted European airlines operating in the US including preventing them transporting passengers between destinations in America and preventing them having shares in US airlines.

Ireland, like all other EU member states, had its own deal with the US. Under this, half of all US flights coming into Ireland landed first at Shannon.

This was due to be ended and instead Aer Lingus would be allowed land at several destinations in the US, while American airlines could choose to land at Dublin only.

But the deal has been put on ice as the US Congress needs to agree to the details. Trade unions backed by politicians are objecting to allowing foreign ownership of its airlines — part of the agreement.

Fianna Fáil MEP Sean Ó Neachtain said he believes that even with the Democrats in charge in Washington after the recent elections, a deal will not be done on opening up air transport between the EU and the US.

Mr Ó Neachtain urged Mr Cullen to guarantee that Shannon would not suffer as a result. The Government has provisionally agreed a new deal that would scrap the requirement for 50% of US flights to land at Shannon as part of the Open Skies deal.

However, MEP Marian Harkin said it was still too early to say if the Democrats would be more amenable to the open skies agreement than the Republicans.