Airlines do disservice to our Olympic heroes

THE report that fewer budget flights are being taken as companies, like Ryanair, hike their prices for “low-cost” flights by 12% this year, didn’t surprise some of us at all.

Next week, the Irish National Team heads for Munich, where it will try to win Olympic quota places for Ireland in the Munich World Cup in three Olympic target shooting events. Some “Irish” airlines have refused to take them there at all. Others will take them, but will charge them hundreds of euro in excess baggage fees for the firearms they must use in this Olympic sport. This shabby treatment of a national team in an Olympic sport and this blatant price gouging is the norm amongst our “Irish” airlines these days. I can remember when the presence of an Irish team on such flights was announced by the captain with pride to the passengers. Perhaps, when the IATA wonders why fewer people are flying and why the industry is slowly collapsing, they should be looking not only at accounting figures, but at intangibles like shared pride in such things as being the national airline carrying the national team to compete and win medals for Ireland?

Mark Dennehy