Airport serving a debt sentence

THE chairman of the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), Gary McGann, has written to the Cork Airport Authority (CAA) and told them they must accept a €100 million debt.

This debt was, in fact, undertaken originally by the DAA which borrowed the money for the new airport development in Cork

It is important to note therefore that the CAA had nothing to do with those plans, did not borrow the money and was set up after the whole thing had gone ahead. But when it was set up, the politicians stepped in and correctly promised the new Cork management they would begin life debt-free.

No doubt from that point on, the detailed planning and costing of the day-to-day operation of this new international airport was based on that debt-free status.

Landing charges and parking rates were set, salaries and staff numbers agreed, the necessary capital spending apportioned and passenger numbers and revenue figures projected.

So on opening day the CAA was set up with no money in the bank, but with a plan to generate its own income through its own activity.

Starting at zero was feasible and planned for — starting at minus €100m was a death sentence before it began. To service this debt and pay its way, the CAA will have to charge the airlines much more and they, in turn, will take their planes elsewhere. Flights from Cork to anywhere will shrink to a trickle and the shiny new building will be empty. Staff lay-offs will start just as the payment defaults on the debt begin and pretty soon the CAA will have to put the airport into liquidation. Will we wake up at that point and plead with the Government to bail it out?

The CAA is being forced to price itself out of the market to try to survive, so have people in the south asked themselves what will happen if the airport board cannot do the impossible? Are we prepared to let our politicians slowly close our airport on their broken promise?

The money spent on e-voting machines would clear the debt at a stroke. A fraction of the money wasted annually by the HSE would clear it. Cost over-runs on the building of the Cork-Dublin road would clear it. The sale of the Government jet would clear it. Revenue from the sale of the people’s share of Aer Lingus would clear it.

Hell, a dip into Brian Cowen’s petty cashbox would clear it. And ironically, through its shortsightedness, the Government has not planned for the massive cost to the exchequer of losing the airport in Cork.

John Mallon

Shamrock Grove

Mayfield

Cork