A lifeline fund - Cork Airport’s future

THE story of Cork Airport has not been an entirely happy one for some years. Labouring under a heavy debt, passenger numbers are down and flights are being curtailed and freight services have moved to Shannon. 

Nevertheless, Dublin Airport Authority, who are responsible for the facility, assert that the €100m plus debt is not the defining factor in the airport’s difficulties.

The situation seems so pressing that any lifeline should be considered. This weekend Fine Gael MEP and member of the EU transport committee Deirdre Clune pointed out that a fund established in the UK to promote connectivity and sanctioned by the EU could apply here and help rejuvenate what seems a wilting enterprise. She pointed out that a European Parliament report identified Ireland and Finland as two countries with lower passenger numbers in secondary airports in 2013 than in 2004 and called on Finance Minister Michael Noonan to introduce such a scheme. It seems that there would need to be a very good reason for not doing so and it will be informative to see how Mr Noonan responds.