Ms Lynne Embleton:

Thank you. I fully appreciate it is a very difficult time for the staff in Shannon and, in fact, for the staff across Aer Lingus and workers across the industry. These are difficult and uncertain times, and that uncertainty has continued for a significant amount of time.

As I have said previously and said to Ministers, there is no strategic retreat from Shannon or from the regions, and that is not our strategic intent. In fact, I would hope that we all want the same thing: we want Ireland connected, we want connectivity and we want jobs. The decision we have taken on Shannon is not simply a strategic retreat from the regions. However, it is the case that there has been no flying from Shannon since March 2020 and it is the case that the cabin crew base was expensive and, in fact, an impediment to restoring flights. This is no reflection at all on the cabin crew themselves, their contribution or their professionalism. It is the structure and the fact the amount of flying and the schedules that we are able to operate at Shannon simply did not support an ongoing crew base in a way that was cost effective. Therefore, when I look at restoring connectivity and restoring flights, which is what I want to do across the Aer Lingus network, the best chance of getting aircraft up in the air is having a cost base that allows us to drive cash back into the business following this crisis, and a travel policy that allows and encourages customers to fly and removes the impediments. If we have those things, it gives me the confidence to put routes back on the map and put flying back in the air. The closure of the Shannon base is intended to support our ability to profitably and sustainably fly flights out of the regions.