Mr. John Mulhern:

I thank the committee for this opportunity to meet with the members and contribute to today’s discussion on our national aviation policy. I will take this opportunity on behalf of Kerry Airport, our chairperson, Mr. Denis Cregan, and our board of directors to thank the committee, the Department of Transport, the Government and all political parties for their continued support of aviation, particularly in the regions. It is always important to state and I know many of the members, as representatives of rural constituencies, fully appreciate how vital an airport is as an access point both for industry and tourism in the less-prosperous regions.

2022 was a rebuilding year for Kerry Airport and I am happy to report to the committee that the airport achieved a 97% recovery from our highs of 2019 following two difficult years for aviation, worsened further for Kerry Airport by the failure of Stobart Air and the loss of our PSO on the Dublin to Kerry route. Ryanair stepped into the route on a commercial basis and has made travel to and from our capital both speedy and affordable. I applaud Ryanair in the most public terms for increasing passenger numbers by 50% from what was a record base in 2019. To survive these insults to our business, we have had to be shrewd and resilient in our strategies, which has resulted in limiting our operating hours and reducing our workforce. We share the same ambitious plans for our airport as Michael O’Leary shared with the committee last November to grow our annual passenger numbers from 400,000 to 600,000 by 2027. To achieve this growth, we have two important points to share with the committee and actions we believe should in some form be part of a national aviation policy that supports regional expansion and a modest decentralisation of some air traffic.

Coming to aviation from a background in healthcare management four years ago, I could never have imagined or appreciated the difficulties and, at times, brick walls smaller airports come up against when trying to attract new routes and new airlines. An impressive 26% of tourists to Ireland visit County Kerry, often via other airports, including Dublin. Many tell us they would like to fly direct. A new route will typically result, even on a twice-weekly rotation, in 1,200 additional tourist bed nights per week during the summer season. Members can see how positive that would be for all areas of a rural economy, including employment and local SMEs. It would be encouraging if, as part of the policy development, members could consider new methods, financial and other, to attract airlines to develop inward routes from population centres in Europe and the UK to the regions. This could even be limited to a supported connection to London Heathrow or Amsterdam Schiphol for Kerry Airport. To accommodate this growth, Kerry Airport must expand, but expansion is very costly. We have drawn up a building plan that is modest and achievable. It would enable us to manage cost by maintaining a defined operating window while growing passenger numbers safely. The drawings are done and the planning process is almost complete. I ask the committee, on a one-time-only basis, as I believe was done in the past for others, to consider supporting this expansion and enable us to grow and increase support to our local economy.

I recognise the importance of the RAP and its vital contribution to our airport. The programme has enabled us to achieve the highest standards in security, rescue and air navigation services. A recent highlight was the introduction of the world’s first airport fire and rescue simulator. The simulator means we do not burn any carbon or take any risks when we train our fire crews in airport fire safety. Everybody in Kerry Airport is fire-approved because we all train in every area of the business. We know from our colleagues in Ireland West Airport Knock that the Government has funded a training centre there. It is a state-of-the-art facility and one of the best in Europe. Since our friends in the UK have left the EU, it has become increasingly difficult for fire officers to train and to do safely. We also ask that - not a cost, because we could all contribute - for consideration Ireland's own national training centre for airport fire safety. Through the programme, we also had the benefit of the first Dublin to Kerry PSO, which was vital to keeping our economy connected. Again, I thank Ryanair for getting the route commercially up and running, however if that should change, I urge the committee to ensure that a commitment to re-establishing the PSO in a timely fashion should remain part of any future policy development.